Thanks to Vernon Francois, red carpets are officially exciting again. He’s the hairstylist behind some of your favorite celebrities with textured hair and right now, his work with Tony Award nominee Denée Benton is giving us life.
Just days after gifting us with Lupita Nyong’o’s golden crown, Francois has created a truly unique updo on Benton, who flaunted the standout look at the 2017 Lilly Awards.
Her hair is styled into a set of vertically placed buns, which are offset by small side cornrows, braided to the front and secured with teased out pieces of hair on the ends.
You can’t fully appreciate the look unless you see it from the side:
And if that isn’t enough, Francois just unveiled another natural updo modeled by Benton on his Instagram.
Here, her tresses are fashioned into two long jumbo braids, accessorized with gold twine, while a smaller cornrow runs along her hairline. It’s official: we just found our new hair crush.