NEW YORK -- While some have demanded attention for #BlackLivesMatter from fashion week, others are celebrating black culture on the runway.
Assembly New York, the Lower East Side store and burgeoning fashion label, showcased an entire cast of black models Wednesday.
The mane attraction? Dreadlocks. All types, textures, and lengths on several men who stood in a single file line.
Shown at the Cadillac House downtown, the brand's founder, Greg Armas, told Mashable the hairstyles were not unlike the clothing he designed.
"Dreadlocks take time," he said to Mashable. "There's no way to fake a dreadlock. Time and balance were the idea this season so we wanted to be authentic. For some of these guys it took 20 years to grow out their looks."
Armas equated the time and effort with dreads to his own time-honored fabrics he utilized for the collection. On some, there were recycled fabrics, some with an extensive dying or reprinting process. Other fabrics came from vintage jackets that came with history.
"It was totally similar to these guys and the process for them to grow out their hair," he explained.
Each of the men was handpicked. According to Armas, some are models, others, cast from places like Home Depot.
But no matter where they were from, Armas said it was important to create balance in this country while promoting diversity at a time when Black Lives Matter has become extremely important to the fabric of American culture.
"Unity is extremely important and we need to rethink how we integrate our culture together and unify," he said.
As for his own collection, it didn't hurt that each of these men came with hair that was authentic.
"We really were looking for beautiful hair and we were lucky they also came with beautiful people," he said.
Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.
