For years, conversations around textured hair in fashion have centered on representation. Behind the scenes, however, models, editors, and hairstylists have been pointing to a deeper issue: the industry itself was never built with textured hair in mind. Award-winning editorial hairstylist Naeemah LaFond is confronting this reality head-on through Texture On Set, an annual large-scale production event now entering its third year. This year’s flagship event, taking place April 29, 2026 at Box Factory in Industry City, Brooklyn, represents a turning point: the moment textured hair moved from niche concern to an infrastructural imperative.
Texture On Set (TOS) confronts how deeply embedded the problem is across the industry — from casting and hiring to production timelines and creative direction. The initiative brings together decision-makers across fashion and beauty to systematically redesign how the industry is equipped to support textured hair at every level.
Box Factory — an industrial creative space in Brooklyn, where LaFond is based — becomes the stage for a revolutionary reimagining of the hair show. Moving away from traditional convention centers and hotel ballrooms, TOS positions itself in a modern, design-forward space that mirrors where contemporary fashion and beauty professionals create and collaborate today. The venue reflects the current industry landscape where textured hair expertise operates.
The 2026 show day unfolds as a full-day production centered on one premise: textured hair deserves the same infrastructure, rigor, and artistry that the industry has historically reserved for straight and wavy hair. Over the course of seven hours, more than 300 working hairstylists, beauty editors, brand executives, and industry leaders move through a carefully sequenced experience.
Main stage programming features six sponsored education segments, each presenting a distinct lens on textured hair expertise: historical references, editorial styling, healthy hair science, live photo shoots, and product-driven technique. A 40-minute panel brings together hair health specialists. A 20-minute conversation with an agent from a leading talent agency, The Wall Group, explores the business of textured hair expertise. The show closes with a live Hair Jam finale and runway — a high-production fashion experience directed by LaFond, who brings her expertise from years of leading hair direction on runways for designers including Monse, Christopher John Rogers, Sergio Hudson, and Fe Noel.
Woven throughout are brand activation floors, a red carpet arrival experience, a VIP breakfast, a cocktail hour, and a courtyard space where attendees collect their branded gift bags — creating continuous touchpoints between brands and a deeply-engaged professional audience. This is a movement with a stage.
TOS positions textured hair as a foundational standard. The industry must be equipped to support it at every level. OLAPLEX, one of the world’s leading haircare brands, serves as Title Sponsor — a commitment that signals industry-wide recognition of this work. The initiative is further backed by a coalition of major brands, including Oribe, SalonCentric (L’Oreal), Pattern Beauty, The Doux, MAC Cosmetics, Shark Beauty, and Dyson. The alignment of competitors across different sectors signals a broader industry acknowledgment that this requires collective investment and systematic change.
LaFond brings unmatched expertise to this work. The 2024 NAHA Editorial Hairstylist of the Year, she has led runway and campaign work for brands including Cécred, Pattern Beauty, Living Proof, amika, and OLAPLEX, with celebrity clients such as Tracee Ellis Ross, Venus Williams, Tyla, Beverly Johnson, and Veronica Webb. Her work appears in leading fashion publications and on red carpets around the world. As the first Black woman to serve as Global Artistic Director for a major professional hair brand outside of the textured-hair category, LaFond traveled to more than 15 countries, headlining main stage shows and leading advanced education programs that expanded global understanding of textured hair. Her influence extends into tech and digital innovation — she was instrumental in Pinterest’s groundbreaking Hair Pattern Search Tool, helping ensure textured hair was authentically represented within one of the world’s largest visual discovery platforms.
Through Texture On Set, LaFond is pushing the fashion and beauty industries to change how they operate.
Tickets (general, premium and VIP) are available now, visit textureonset.com to purchase.
