Malcolm Marquez Talks Creating 6 Custom ‘Headpieces’ for Doechii’s Big 2025 Grammys Moment

02/04/2025

Doechii calls herself the “Swamp Princess,” but at the 2025 GRAMMYs she proved herself to be the people’s princess. Whether it was the viral reception to her rolling her eyes at Trevor Noah’s lame joke about immigrants or her hyping Black women during her Best Rap Album acceptance speech or when she brought the music industry’s biggest players to their feet for a standing ovation after performing with a crew of her clones, there’s a whole lot of love for Doechii. Including here at The Tease.

Our editors picked Doechii as one of the evening’s best hairstyles, in that case, her red carpet look combining fingerwaves and braids by Malcolm Marquez. But the pair cooked up several different hairstyles that changed with each of her on-screen appearances throughout the night. Marquez seemed to up himself with each piece, one more intricate than the next, braided fascinators becoming literal crowns. Perfect for Doechii’s coronation.

We connected with Marquez and he graciously agreed to answer our most burning questions about the 2025 GRAMMYs. Read on for more.

The Tease: How many hairstyles did you plan for the ’25 GRAMMYs? What was the inspiration or starting point for the hair?

Malcolm Marquez: The inspiration was definitely the fashion. She was wearing Thom Browne all night who is known for dramatic shapes. It felt right to play with shape in the hair to balance out the proportions of the looks overall. It’s really important for Doechii and me to have a lot of options. I actually created about 6 headpieces total.

What is it like to collaborate with Doechii? How involved was she in the process for these GRAMMYs hairstyles?

Marquez: It’s amazing. One thing I love about Doechii is she is always going to be involved in all elements of her art. She usually comes to me with a general idea, feeling, or shape that she wants. From there I will present her with my own interpretation of those ideas and we narrow it down from there. However, sometimes I do bring her my own thoughts on a direction first it just depends on the moment. For Grammy night we were definitely in sync from the beginning on sleek sculptures. The fingerwaves was her idea where I came in to add the braids/mix textures. She really trusted me with the other two pieces. There were some pretty fab ones that didn’t quite make the cut. 

Marquez’s hair designs for Doechii; Image from Instagram.com/malcolm.marquez

Walk us through the mechanics of executing these looks! These were elaborate, braided hair pieces. Not exactly the stuff for a quick change!

Marquez: I make my pieces on a variety of bases. Some on lace, hat bases, or hand sculpted wire. Because there was so many quick changes it was important we built them strong on something we could quickly switch out. Each piece was hand sewn directly into her cornrows.

Image courtesy of Malcolm Marquez

Obviously Doechii had a huge night, taking home a historic grammy for Best Rap Album and a massive performance, what did it mean for you, as a longtime collaborator, to see her receiving her flowers?

Marquez: I’m just so proud of her, but I would be lying if I said I was surprised! She’s a star and it was so exciting to see her show that to the world on the stage she deserves.

When you’re working with someone like Doechii, what are the products you have to have with you, to ensure the hair holds up no matter what?

Marquez: In this current braid era I would say the products are quite simple. I worked with tgin (thank god it’s natural) for Grammy night. We used their mousse, gel, shine spray, and scalp oil. For these looks the main priority was to hold structure so there was some less common things used like floral wire and fabric. 

Image from Instagram.com/malcolm.marquez

Which look was your favorite and why?

Marquez: I actually think it’s the look she won in. There was something so satisfying about how clean it looked with the outfit, while still being a statement. I think the simplicity looked amazing on camera and made the moment feel a little more iconic. I think the cultural impact of that moment also makes it one of my favorites. 

Anything else you want to share with our readers?

Marquez: Stream Alligator Bites Never Heal!

Watch Doechii accept her GRAMMY for Best Rap Album above. And for more from Marquez, be sure to follow on Instagram.

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Jeffrey Lunnen

Jeffrey C. Lunnen is the Editor in Chief of The Tease and co-host of The Volume Up Podcast. He is hair obsessed. Obviously!

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