Jourdana Phillips Opens Up About the Importance of Wearing Her Natural Hair at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show

In 2015, Maria Borges made history as the first ever model to wear her natural hair on the runway at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. In the years since, Jourdana Phillips and several other models have followed in Borges's footsteps, wearing their natural hair at both last year's show and at the 2017 show in Shanghai — the most racially diverse in the show's 23-year history. Shortly before stepping onto the runway earlier this month, Phillips spoke to Mic about the significance of showcasing her natural texture at the iconic show.

"I think it's super important to have natural hair at the show," she said. "They see how successful Maria has been and to join the party now is so great. We want people coming in different sizes and shapes, and a diverse range of women of color. We want girls that everyone can identify with. I'm hoping there's girls who will be like, 'Oh, that looks like me!'" According to Mic, Phillips and Borges were joined by fellow Angels Samile Bermannelli, Alecia Morais, Grace Bol, Herieth Paul, Aiden Curtiss, and Amilna Estevao in wearing their natural hair during the fashion show, which airs on CBS on Tuesday (November 28).

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"It's such an amazing and monumental experience. Not only are you doing the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, but one of the most diverse ones. It's historic. Because of Victoria's Secret's huge influence, it will no doubt influence other brands and the images out there of women of color," Phillips continued. "I think now we're understanding collectively, as a society, that there are whole, huge parts of the population that aren't being catered to, that aren't being marketed towards positively. The population is growing and the minorities are becoming the majority. It's inevitable that you have to cater to them. I want to buy from brands that have me in it. More people of color have money to buy amazing things, and we should be acknowledged and be treated as equal buyers."

While VS has made great strides in being more racially inclusive in recent years, Phillips admitted that the brand — like the rest of the fashion industry — still has a ways to go in terms of body diversity. "There's so many different-sized women who are shopping for Victoria's Secret," she said. "It's no longer this sample size. We're appreciating girls and valuing and seeing the beauty in girls who are all shapes and sizes. I do hope to see it, and I'm sure we'll see it, whether it's Victoria's Secret or whatever brand who does it first."

Phillips spoke to W last year about how Borges had inspired her to embrace both her natural texture and adventurous sense of style. "I was so happy to see Maria do that. It made me feel like one day I could do it, too," she said, before explaining why she decided to get a platinum blond pixie cut. "I was like, 'Let's just go for it. I don't care, it's just hair!'" she said. "I have been seeing a lot of girls go short and it's been making me feel a lot more comfortable with myself, like I don't need long hair to be beautiful. It's really just me and the energy that I project that makes me feel beautiful."

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