01x03 - Fantasy Hairstyling

[bunniefuu]

We all want to be remembered.

To make a mark in our lifetime.

To build something that lasts forever.

A legacy.

Some people build pyramids.

Others

build empires.

And some

build this.

This

is Fantasy Hairstyling.

Wigs are not allowed.

We need to see natural hair.

We need to see? That these pieces

look like they are actually growing

from your model's head.

Judging will include hair, headdress,

clothing, makeup,

nails, and accessories.

Absolutely no nudity.

No animals, no reptiles,

or fish are allowed as props.

All of the judges' decisions are final.

If you want to prove that you're

the best? Hairstylist in the world,

there's only one way to do it.

You have to win at the Bronner

Brothers International Hair Show.

You can go east, west, north, south.

You will not find the level of creativity,

the level of artistry,

the level of talent and energy

that Bronner Brothers brings

to the hair and beauty industry.

For over 70 years,

Bronner Brothers has

been the most important day

on the entire hair calendar.

I like to think of Bronner Brothers

as the NAACP for beauty and hair.

We are a staple in Black beauty.

We are experts in Black beauty.

Why? Because we are Black beauty.

Every year, the greatest

stylists in America

craft physics-defying hair sculptures

with enough spark to ignite

all the hairspray in the room.

We've seen fish tanks.

We've seen flames.

We've had superheroes.

We've had octopus and elephant hairstyle,

lions and tigers.

Winning Bronner Brothers changes lives,

creating legends

that will live forever in hair history.

Or let's get it straight

hair-story.

This is the Super Bowl of hair.

Bronner Brothers has

always been incredible,

but this year

it's to the roof, okay?

Merlande Petithomme.

She's out to make her mark

in this beauty industry.

She comin' to win. She's

not coming to play with y'all.

Merlande Petithomme is the

Haitian-American sensation

taking over hair nation.

But whatever you do,

don't call her the underdog.

I've never been an underdog,

but, coming on new territory,

they don't know who you are,

so they label you an underdog,

and I always tell people,

I was born a star.

I am a star.

The world just don't know it yet.

Merlande's specialty is wigs,

and she makes some of

the best in the business.

I love wigs,

'cause I can switch up my looks.

I get to have more fun

than the regular people.

But I change my hair like

I change my underwear.

I live, breathe, eat and sleep hair.

I've been doing hair

since I was ten years old.

Growing up, I always

customized my Barbie wigs.

So that made me the awesome

wig assassin that I am today.

Merlande has never won

at Bronner Brothers before,

so this competition could

transform her entire life.

Sometimes people say, "You

come from a poor background,"

count us out, and I want to let them know,

never count this little Haitian out, baby.

Atlanta native? Terrence Davidson

is the self-proclaimed bad boy of hair.

This two-time Bronner Brothers

champion is notoriously experimental.

I'm all the way around

the board experimental.

Terrence is very smart.

He's witty. He's funny

but he crazy.

While some people like

coloring within the lines,

others cannot be contained.

Terrence's lawless ingenuity often

brings trouble with the judges,

but it is also the reason? He has won

championship after championship.

It feels great? To win again.

If the audience love what I do,

I don't give a damn about anything else.

Terrence's talent has taken him

to the very top of the hair game.

I remember doing Saturday Night Live,

and Nicki Minaj did The

Bride of Frankenstein.

That wig was made in 45 minutes.

It's alive! It's damn!

I k*lled it.

But, despite his incredible creativity,

Terrence has one major weakness.

I'm gonna call myself? Prepared unprepared.

Know how you'll be? Prepared unprepared?

You have everything

together, but you really don't,

- but you know you got everything together?

- That weakness?

- I don't know what I'm doing!

- It's Terrence.

That's me.

If you want to be the best,

you have to beat the best.

And at Bronner Brothers,

that can only mean one person.

This guy.

Give it up for Kevin Kirk!

Kevin Kirk is the king

of the jungle in beauty.

Kevin is so respected among his peers

that when he walks in the room,

he commands everybody's attention.

Even if you don't know Kevin Kirk,

you may have used his shampoo.

Because Kevin has turned his many victories

into the hair empire that is

KirkPro.

I've been in the business for 27 years.

I won Bronner Brothers four times.

Nobody in the history of the

competition has ever done that.

Kevin has never been beaten.

He's defeated camels, dragons,

and whatever this is.

Kevin does his best

work when he's stretched.

So, when he competes,

you need? To have your

cameras readily available,

'cause it's going to be a show.

And that camera better have a zoom,

because Kevin soars above the competition.

Literally.

He cuts hair

in the air.

In the air!

And the winner is

Kevin Kirk!

So, get ready, because

I'm going there to win,

to set history again,

to add to the legacy. I'm going to win.

There are many different

Bronner Brothers events,

but there's one that stands apart,

that redefines the

boundaries of hair possibility

the fantasy competition.

With fantasy, the only

limit is your imagination

and your technical ability to

implement what you see in your mind.

As long as what you see

is made out of hair.

The fantasy competition is

the most respected event,

because it's the purest

test of technical mastery.

It's not a whole bunch of hoopla.

It's no support, it's just you,

by yourself,

in the art, doing what you do.

It's just one artist on stage,

with one model,

and one vision.

It is a true reflection

of who you really are,

and what you can really do.

As a judge myself,

we've come to see the expression of love

and passion on stage.

That's what I'm looking for.

This year, for the first time,

Bronner Brothers are

holding their competition

in New Orleans.

So, what else could the theme be except

Mardi Gras?

Lord, we are in New Orleans,

and we are expecting this crowd

to be the largest? Bronner Brother crowd

that we have seen in years, Lord.

And I'm expecting first place,

victory in the fantasy competition.

And in Jesus's name, we pray.

- Amen.

- Amen.

I didn't grow up doing hair.

I grew up playing football and

basketball like everybody else.

KirkPro!

But Kevin wasn't like everyone else,

because Kevin was destined for greatness.

I was actually on my

way to enroll into college.

On my way, I stopped at a red light.

And, at the red light, I heard an

audible voice from God saying,

"Look to the right."

And when I looked to the right, it was

a cosmetology school.

And He said, "That's where you need to be."

Turns out that God was right on the money,

because since that audible,

Kevin has won more trophies

than anyone in Bronner Brothers' history.

And Kevin and God?

They're still talking.

When you know for a fact

that you have God with you,

there's a level of confidence

and a reassurance that

you have, no matter what.

So, I walk with confidence,

knowing that everything is

going to work out to my favor,

which is pressure off.

You are a float.

Okay? You are a part of a parade.

I know that sounds silly,

but I want you to kind of embody that.

For the fantasy competition,

my hairpiece is a big Mardi Gras float

sitting on top of somebody's head.

One of the worst things is

when your model stands up

to present your look,

it leans or it falls.

It has to be solid. It has to be stable.

It can't be wobbly or anything like that.

Here's the deal. In the competition,

if the base of the hairpiece is

bigger than one third of the head,

it's an automatic disqualification.

I think it's going to be too big,

we gotta go to the smaller doughnut.

Everybody else is fighting

for second and third.

This is the winner.

I'm lost for words!

With a personality as big as Terrence's,

you need an entourage to match.

There's rolling deep,

and there's rolling Terrence deep.

This is the Legion of Glam.

That Legion of Glam is my team.

It's made up of hair

stylists, makeup artists,

photographers, barbers, anything

in the glam world, you name it.

We're a glam family,

and I love them so dearly.

So, listen, guys.

Tomorrow's the fantasy

competition. I'm competing in it,

but y'all know how we do it. As a team.

But Terrence can't bring

his glam fam on stage.

It'll just be him, solo, and his wild idea.

Right.

Well, his three wild ideas.

So, I can do a braid and just

wrap it around just right here

My mind is different

when it comes to fantasy,

so, the rules and regulations, I break 'em.

And my concept is crazy.

I call it "The Siamese

Triplets of Mardi Gras."

So it's a three-headed woman.

- Hello!

- Rules of fantasy are clear:

Only one model is allowed on stage.

- I know how to pick models.

- You do.

But Terrence doesn't

break rules recklessly.

He breaks them fearlessly.

They're telling me, in

fantasy, only one model,

but we can have props. So,

those extra people will be my props.

Props. Main model in the middle.

So that means a three-headed

woman, not women.

That's woman. That's

what it is, and it's fantasy.

Can we push this table down?

Louis!

Terrence follows no rules.

Well, I don't know about this.

Lay 'em out on the floor,

so you don't get there

and figure something out.

Terrence does not believe in structure.

We got the yellow.

It's Terrence's world.

Ain't got no color.

Which is not really going

to sit well with judges.

Terrence's history? With the judges

is storied and sensational.

This hair show has been here for 75 years.

And the rules are, you can

only use, "technically," a female.

In 2015, Terrence wowed the audience

and challenged convention

by breaking gender

norms for the very first time.

When you have someone? Who says,

"Know what? No. This is the new norm."

You had no other choice but to say,

"We've got to change these rules."

You slayed it. I think that was necessary.

I thought it was quite genius.

Transgender people are

here. You gave them a platform.

I love everything you just did.

Rules are made for us to stay consistent,

but some are made to be broken.

Will Terrence rewrite the rule again,

or have it thrown at him?

I may get disqualified, I don't know,

but I bet I catch the eye of

everyone in that audience.

This is fabulous.

And colors are very important.

It's bright, vibrant,

representing New Orleans.

Some people win, but

don't get talked about.

The show isn't rememberable.

Anything about Merlande

will be rememberable.

Like my hair, my outfit, the

way I move in the overall show.

This was donated by our

good friend, Big Freedia.

Oh, Big Freedia!

You already know!?

The theme of Mardi Gras

is perfect for Merlande,

because it gives the opportunity to go big

and go home.

Oh. It's strapped up.

A lot of people are ashamed

to say they're Haitian.

I want the world to know who I am,

what I am, and that

we're able to be the best.

They're going to say, "Who that girl is?

That a Haitian girl?" Yes.

Proud Haitian-American.

For Merlande, Mardi

Gras isn't just a theme,

it's her heritage.

And this is a woman who

loves to show her roots.

Any time I compete, I want

to make sure I tell a story,

'cause that story is a

representation of me.

So, my piece represents my Haitian roots.

You see how that's

already sealing the hair.

Laying down there smooth.

When the Haitians that were

dropped off through the Revolution,

they would get branded

with the? Fleur-de-lis,

and that labeled them as a troublemaker.

So, when I compete, I want

you to know I'm the trouble.

How do you feel about being

in the b*ttlefield with these vets,

if you? Will?

Just 'cause you a vet, it don't shake me.

You know,

sh**t 'em up, bang bang.

Basically you saying it's Lande P. Time.

- Oh, Lande P.

- Okay.

You hear me? Show up and show out,

- all day, every day.

- I know that's right.

While this design celebrates her history,

every hairstyle? Merlande

creates honors her own story.

My parents call me million-dollar child,

'cause at the age of

six, I had three tumors:

Two in my vag*na, one in? My pelvis,

and we had them removed.

And, um, I lost my hair.

I would go home and beg my mom,

"Could you buy me a wig?"

So, she bought me a play one.

And, with that, I would cut off the hair,

and I started creating different

hairpieces on my Barbie mannequins.

So, that got me into the wig game.

So, everybody knew me for my nice pieces.

You know, on fleek, baby.

Sometimes, people

They use stuff as an excuse.

I'm not gonna use that as an excuse

to not push and excel

to the best of my ability.

Months of preparation have spun

into the final moments before competition.

Final touches must be

applied to everything,

from hairpieces

to makeup

to models

providing they show up.

Hi.

I am not able to talk.

My model f*cking canceled on

me, and I'm trying to find a model.

I just think the b*tch went to the club.

Five o'clock in the morning.

But she didn't call me until, what, 11:00?

To say that she had went to

the hospital at five in the morning.

- That's the oldest-a*s excuse in the book.

- Yeah.

f*ck it. We'll do it with two.

Where Terrence has lost a model,

Kevin is beginning to lose faith.

I'm very nervous.

When I put it together,

it was sturdy and solid.

I felt confident in it.

But the more I moved around with it,

the more it started to be wobbly again.

So, I gotta go back

and resecure everything.

I gotta find that perfect

balance of it in the middle.

I need more sticks.

I have a question. Do you know the rules?

- Yes.

- I've got two models.? Is that an issue?

I didn't see anything in the rules, but

It says one, but she's a two-headed woman.

- Okay. Yeah, so

- So, "woman" is "A-N,"

not "women." "Women" is "E-N."

- Okay.

- There's nothing they can do.

I'm just going to do it at

this point, I'm just saying

Yeah, I'm doomed.

The atmospheric

pressure is rising for some.

For others, this is a breeze.

I tell people,

any time I step on the

stage, "It's Merlande's world."

So, be ready.

When the Merlande

Petithomme is in the building,

she comin' with all the smoke.

My stomach got knots in it, again,

for about the 20th time this week.

- Hello.

- Number 12?

Yes, ma'am.

Hey, excuse me.

- Kevin Kirk.

- Hi.

- How you doing?

- I'm good, yourself?

I'm pretty good.

Is this fantasy registration?

- It is.

- Yes.

Okay, yeah. I'm here.

- Terrence Davidson.

- Okay.

Here's a copy of the rules and regulations.

Too late. The damn thing finna

take place now, what I'ma do?

Take these rules and regulations.

I want you to find number

16, get seated back here,

and they're gonna get everything else done.

That's how we gon' do

this, okay? Thank you.

It all comes down to an hour on stage.

The final cut.

Begin.

You only have one hour to attach

these hairpieces to your models.

I wanted to create

something that was artistic.

Everything is about

balance. About smoothness.

Everything is about defying gravity.

I want to throw the competition off.

I think they're going to be looking

at the? Same thing over and over again.

But, then, here I come with

something just a little different.

I tell people, whenever I show up,

it's gonna be a shift? In the culture.

- Anything poking you?

- Just a little, I'm good.

I want to leave a piece

of who I am on the scene.

I want people in awe.

Like, "Ooh, ahh."

"Look what he did."

Hold still now.

You have to create this imaginary thing,

but then make sure the details are right.

It's about that artist's craftsmanship.

I also want you to fool me.

That's the excitement for me. It's like

you got that, b*tch.

The key thing is

the hairpiece should only cover

one third of the model's head.

Too heavy for you?

So, if you can create that hairpiece

to balance on just one third,

you're a boss.

Let it go for a second.

It's great for us to experience

who some of these characters are.

It not only shows the world who they are,

it allows them to discover

a part of themselves

they may have never

been stretched to before.

Contestants, 30 minutes on the clock.

It ain't gonna work.

I'm gonna try something. Help me turn it.

I have no idea what to do.

Sometimes, till you're pushed,

you don't know? What's inside of you.

This is the last thing

I can think of to try.

And if this don't work, I'm

gonna have to concede.

We get to really see how creative you are,

how innovative you are.

- Made that b*tch a little heavy.

- Seven minutes left

- in this competition.

- sh*t.

Y'all don't feel loose?

I shoulda went a little smaller.

- Gonna be able to straighten it?

- I'm trying to.

- Walk like there's a book on your head.

- Ten seconds!

Ten, nine, eight

- All right?

- seven,

six, five, four, three, two, one!

It's over! Scissors down.

Scissors are down.

Do not move, leave the

umbrella still. Don't move.

Judges are ready.

And there's only one way to end this.

It's time for a walk-off.

As a Black man or a Black woman,

for some reason, it's something

that's within that Black body

that just makes you want to dance,

dominate at singing, rhythms

It's all of that that's

trapped inside of you.

So, I think that the reason why this

community explodes so much with it

is because of everything that's

been suppressed, and how

amazing

Black people are!

Just how amazing that Black community

they are.

And they come up with something

from nothing and put it on someone.

It is incredible.

It wasn't perfect, but I

was able to pull off a look,

and I gave myself a chance.

My nerves is bad.

I didn't do a plan B

because I thought that plan A

was going all the way

through with three models.

Then I got stuck with two.

The great dream of

mine is to be a champion.

So, showtime, y'all. Let the games begin.

Final results are in. Can all the

contestants come back? On stage?

With fantasy, it's not about the check.

It's the hopes of walking

away saying, "I won."

In second place

Terrence Davidson!

What happened?

They changed the rules, because

now we can use two models,

which is weird. Did I not read

I'm tired of not reading the rules.

Still trying to find my third

model that disappeared.

It worked.

It did. I didn't know that many

people was gonna go crazy over that.

Okay, everybody. This is it.

When you win a Bronner

Brothers competition,

you're on the map.

The winner and new champion

of the fantasy competition is

Merlande Petithomme!

Any time you see the

Merlande coming through,

move back. Move over.

'Cause you know, it's

gonna be smoke in the city.

- I love you, girl.

- Love you too, baby.

Thank you! I'm so excited.

We shook the competition up.

I showed up with my little sequin suit,

hair laid, model on fleek, baby,

and gave them what they were looking for.

Never count me out, baby,

'cause I'm coming for your? Jugular.

The judges say I lost.

Me, personally, I say I won.

The mere fact that I reconstructed

another hairpiece live, on stage

Man, I say, kudos to me.

Even some judges were

like, if you were able to have

Do two or three things to it,

I probably would've placed.

You coming to the party?

I was stressed out for some time,

because one of the models didn't show up.

My team was mad.

They was gonna get her.

They still gonna get her.

- Love y'all.

- You too.

Maybe that was godsent.

Maybe He was telling

me, "Don't overdo yourself."

It's all about just being humble.

If you're humble,

everything falls into place.

There's people that told

me I wasn't good enough

that I would never win.

That's my motivation.

You won't forget me.

You will stumble on that name,

but you won't forget me.

Because I'ma be Merlande,

and I'm here to stay.

Every time we brighten this world

and make it just a little more beautiful,

a little more

"us,"

we make ourselves a little more

"rememberable."

And the art of expressing who we are

Well,

that's our true legacy.

So, whether it's a braid or a fade,

or just showing off your roots,

We are all artists.

We are all works of art.

And we are all

the champions.