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Ahead of the 2020 Grammys, the glam team behind Alicia Keys’s stunning beauty looks had one objective in mind: Make her shine. That they did, from the R&B icon’s Swarovski crystal–embellished braids to her lit-from-within glow. Hosting the ceremony on a somber night, Keys brightened the mood with moving tributes and gripping performances, subtly recalibrating her hair and makeup looks as the night went on. When Keys first appeared onstage, she debuted intricate vertical cornrows braided by hairstylist Nai’vasha.
“I wanted to celebrate authentic ‘Alicia,’” Nai’vasha tells Vogue of the look. “She’s iconic for braids. However, I wanted to create a fresh approach and modern twist to her custom ’90s-inspired Versace wardrobe.” That’s where the gleaming touches came in: The plaited style was finished with a low knot wrapped in pieces of chiffon that were hand-embroidered with thousands of crystals by accessory designer Jennifer Behr. “We wanted the crystals to look as if they were floating in the hair,” explains Behr.
The finishing touch? Edges swooped with Emerge Style Goals Gel and set with the diffuser setting of the T3 Cura Luxe Dryer to a spiraled effect, then punctuated by tiny individual crystals that sparkled around her hairline. “Alicia and I are obsessed with glorious baby hairs,” explains Nai’vasha. “Our vision was to have the hair dazzle with the lights, camera, and action of the night.”
Keys kept her cornrowed updo, which she also sports on the cover of her forthcoming album, Alicia, for most of the night, with Nai’vasha swapping out the chiffon for a sculptural assembly of Jennifer Behr’s golden floral Pansy bobby pins at one point. But prior to Keys’s performance of “Underdog,” Nai vasha took out the braids and brushed her hair back into an ultra-taut sleek chignon, layering in long pieces of the gemstone-studded chiffon. The takeaway? With the right hair baubles in tow, a shape-shifting updo holds endless possibilities.
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