Lee-anne is a hairstylist and braiding artist who treats hair as art. From Cynthia Erivo’s microbraids in Wicked to Ncuti Gatwa’s looks in Doctor Who, her intricate styling has made its mark on stage, screen and in the pages of Vogue, Dazed, Wallpaper* and 10 Magazine. Lee-anne talks us through her artistic approach to braiding, the influences that shape her work, and how she collaborates with clients to bring each style to life.
Lee-Anne’s Contribution to the Wicked Movie:
After two years of full-time freelancing, she launched BRAIDSPLUSMUSE in June. The private booking salon and creative studio reflects her vision of hair as both craft and collaboration. She describes braiding as “more than hair, a creative partnership and art form shaped by those who inspire me.” Here she talks us through her inspirations behind her creative styling.
Shaz: For those who are unfamiliar with your work, how would you describe your aesthetic and creative approach to styling?
Lee-Anne: When it comes to being in a set for a shoot, there's like a whole creative process behind the styling. It's not always just about how it looks like the outcome, because you can make anything look good, but what it is is it's like creating a solution. It's like following a story, so hair, makeup and styling will come together to create what the story is of what the shoot is trying to portray. So whatever mood it is, or whatever message and what it's supposed to convey, we will come together and make it make sense to what the vision, the end product, would look like.
Lee-Anne: For my creative approach, I would usually be sent a deck of inspiration for a shoot. And then I'll go back and research, maybe just depending on what type of shoot it is. It could be to do with a tradition, or a certain culture or a moment in time. I'll research that by looking at what hairstyles were done in that period of time. Or if it's like an object that I'm inspired by, I would go back and look at the objects and look at the different patterns or textures, and then create a mood board from that. And then I would like to start to develop different hair, say, like different hairstyles, but sometimes I might take techniques from something that's already been done that might look like a pattern, and then just put everything together. Sometimes I'm not able to practice certain styles, so I would draw it out, or kind of just piece it together in my mind to try and visualise it. Or if I'm able to practice it, I'll do it on my doll's head to see if it works as well.
Shaz: What initially drew you to braiding as a form of artistic expression, rather than just doing hair? And how has your relationship with hair evolved since kind of taking more of an artistic approach?
Lee-Anne: I've always been a creative. Hair, for me, is a medium through which I express my creativity. I taught myself how to braid when I was a child because I didn’t like how my mom was doing my hair. Growing up, I used to do it more with my family and friends. It was just a hobby I enjoyed. I didn't realise that there was a world of doing hair artistically or creatively until later in life, when social media made everyone's careers more visible. Although I did a lot of hair styling on myself, I really didn't see it as a career beyond the salon. Once I started seeing more of different people's careers, I approached hair creatively. Sometimes you don't notice things until you see them. I'm quite introverted, so growing up I stuck to who I knew like my mom, sister, friends and family. I found it difficult to have conversations and put myself out there. Slowly, as I've stepped into more of my creativity and met other people, I've evolved in connecting with others. One of my favourite parts of what I do is being inspired by other people and seeing what they do. It inspires me to be great at what I do, and through talking to others, you learn different perspectives and things that weren’t in your sphere before. I would say I've evolved in that way.
Shaz: Are there any people who inspire what you do?
Lee-Anne: People who inspired me in their careers are Isaac Poleon, Aminata Kamara, Jawara, Shamara Roper and Tashana Miles. It's a mix of like braiding and big creative styling, and then also more refined fashion, sleek looks. I like the best of both worlds. And then artists, like big artists like Rihanna and Popcaan. Culturally, these are people whom I admired growing up. In music as well. Sharkkana is someone I've worked with a lot as well. She's a big inspiration, because we work a lot together in terms of hair, yeah, and come up with ideas together.
A braided style by Shamara Roper:
The unique hairstyling of Isaac Poleon:
Braids Lee-Anne has done for Sharkkana:
Shaz: How do you kind of like stay ahead of trends in terms of like, braiding creatively, and do you see yourself more as a trendsetter or a follower or a mix of both?
Lee-Anne: I don't necessarily follow trends. I wouldn't say that I keep up to date with what is happening. Some trends are just in your face all the time because they come up on your Instagram feed a lot. So if there's a trend that I like, sometimes I'm like, okay, I want to try that and challenge myself, because it's something that I haven't done before. But I wouldn't necessarily say that I follow trends or that I do anything to stay ahead, because I would say I'm just inspired by who's around me. Someone might come to me with like an idea, and I can work with them to make it happen. My approach to trends is like, how can I take something trending, use that to challenge myself?
Shaz: What are some braiding trends or styling techniques that you feel like are going to be more popular throughout 2025 or in the coming years?
Lee-Anne: I don't know about breakthrough ones. One thing that I've noticed more and more is the mix between braiding and leave-out or natural hair. So, knotless braids, and then you have like curly hair that's coming out of it. Or you've got a braided style at the front, and you have like, afro, curly hair at the back. It's like styles that look natural. There's like a bit of natural hair coming through, or elements that replicate natural hair, like a hybrid of looks.
A style Lee-Anne has done for Sharkkana (fits the style mentioned):
Shaz: Are there any cultural or historical braiding styles that you feel are being represented in new and exciting ways right now?
Lee-Anne: I did see a post earlier, it was just showing how styles today are very similar to ones from back in the day, like it showed Popcaan and then Suriname in 1980. I don't have much information on where traditional styles come from or what year. But I know there are a lot of Caribbean hairstyles that people might like to see as like out there or wild, but then not realise that these styles are quite historical. I don't know if that's on purpose, or if it's just someone, I don't know how Popcaan comes up with his hairstyles, or if it's like a collaborative effort. But he just likes something, and he wants it that way. It's more like subconscious to kind of draw inspiration from those, like older hairstyles, like a spiritual connection. It's just like us to create.
Shaz: When creating interesting braiding patterns, where do you look for inspiration?
Lee-Anne: When braiding for clients, I always discuss with the client first and ask them if they have any pictures for reference of what they would want it to look like. That might be another braiding style, or it could be a pattern as well. When you're discussing it, I'm trying to figure out if I can achieve that with braiding and what they hope to achieve. I then see if it's possible to adapt it into braiding, or if I can do it with their hair type. How long their hair is, or how short their hair is, whatever state their hair is in. So, it's a collaborative process, and we just work together to see, okay, is this gonna work like this? Then we'll try it, and if it doesn't, do you want to try it like this? Yeah? Try it like that. And then, yeah, it's like a back-and-forth thing.
Shaz: How does being on set differ from session styling?
Lee-Anne: For styling on set, you sit down, do research into what it is you're looking for, what you're looking at. It's a collaborative process as well. There are restraints because of timing when you're on set. You also have to make sure that you're able to do the desired style in the limited time that you're given. Also, for it to make sense, well, to what the brief is. And then sometimes there are checks to see if there are look changes as well, and factor them in. Can this look transform into this next look within a reasonable amount of time? So that is something I have to consider all in when you're researching and preparing for a look.
Shaz: What does the rest of 2025 have in store for you?
Lee-Anne: I'm going to continue working with other creatives, other artists, because music is a big inspiration for me. Not just music, but London culture and other cultures in general. Working with more creatives, more entrepreneurs, and just being inspired by each other. What fuels me is meeting people and working together. Being collaborative, just being inspired by each other and doing the best and being the best in what we do.
Cover Photo by @radhika.photos