Welcoming Alopecia into the Fashion Industry

From acne to vitiligo, the body positivity movement has encouraged us to celebrate and accept a wide spectrum of skin conditions and disabilities. Recently, the movement has highlighted alopecia in attempt to destigmatize female hair-loss.

London-based Hair Heals Organisation has launched the #alopeciaisfashion campaign, which is trying to normalize female hair loss and baldness in the fashion industry. Claire Namukolo, director of Hair Heals, has experienced hair loss herself and believes that designers and runway culture should change their attitude toward hair. “We already have the standards that have been laid out within the fashion industry of what a model on the catwalk should look like, which are that you should have long hair, you should have nice hair,” she told the BBC. “Fashion is alopecia. We are going to use our campaign to blend it into the fashion industry and challenge perceptions.”

Nichola McAvoy and Evangeline Betts are two models featured in the campaign who both started losing their hair when they were young children. They participated in a photo shoot that was broadcasted on BBC.

"Yes, there are struggles that come with being a female with no hair. For me, they're born out of anxiety about how people will react to us because we don't feel we fit general beauty standards for women," said McAvoy. "If we continue to do campaigns like #AlopeciaIsFashion then we're tackling the root of the problem, by showing everyone with or without Alopecia that it is beautiful. That it is fashionable!"