Our society has been adorning the hair with feathers for a long time now, a tradition that dates back hundreds of years. Feathers enhance the look of clothing, jewellery, hair accessories and more recently, feathers have been making an impact in the fashion industry in the form of feather hair extensions.

Native American culture provides a rich history of heads adorned with feathers. For the native American Indians, feathers represented the power of the thunder gods, along with the power of air and wind. Native American Chiefs wore them to symbolise their divine wisdom, and to communicate with the Spirits. Feathers sometimes represented the courage of the warrior during a battle or a successful hunt.

The birth of the “Flapper” during the Roaring Twenties may be recalled by some; many of the early black and white films showed ladies (Flappers) accessorised with feathers. Many sported short hair styles, unconventional dresses and accessorised with feather trim. Flappers were considered to be on the cutting edge of fashion.

The Flappers of the 1920’s wore their hair feathers and feather accessories to symbolise their journey; their metaphorical flight into womanhood – so it is rumoured. The origin of the word “Flapper” refers to a young bird that is learning to fly, though the word flapper does have different meanings and connotations in different cultures.

Feathers have made huge waves in the fashion industry and crossed cultural divides globally. Women still sport feathers as a way to show their liberation from tradition. Feathers can also carry a spiritual significance, or could represent an emotional journey. Fast forward to society today, and the feather accessory is still as impactful as it has ever been; you can choose from an array of feather headpieces, jewellery, or semi-permanent feather hair extensions.

One of the most controversial films of 2010 was the awe-inspiring Black Swan. Dark as it was, it brought the symbolic nature of the feather to new heights. The feather was given a haunting persona, full of intrigue and mystery – the black feathers represented letting go and the discovering her true nature. Feathers in this film were representative of one young woman’s struggle with personal identity.

If you’re into Hollywood movies, you would have spotted celebrities with feather accessories both on-the-go doing daily tasks, and on the red carpet. This shows that the hair feather extension can transcend formal and casual occasions. The wearing of feathers and its meaning is completely interpretive; It’s whatever it symbolizes to you and your own personal journey; rest assured you’re not alone. That’s what makes the feather such an evolving symbol through the years, or perhaps these days, no matter what your style, you can find hair feathers to suit your own personal style.

The newest types of feathers in hair design for 2012 are being worn as semi-permanent feather extensions. Feathers known as ” Grizzly”, “Euro Hackle” or “Variants” are being worn by people (men and women) who are interested in more of a long term, easy to manage feather hair accessory. They can be worn in a variety of combinations ranging from bright and fashionable colours for the outgoing and night clubbers to very natural earth tones for the fashionably trendy. You can choose as many feathers as you like to express your current style or persona. These feathers can be treated just like your natural hair. They can be shampooed, hot ironing, etc. You can wear them in your hair for 8 weeks or more with no fuss. Whether you wear them because of a deeper personal meaning, or because you just love to be a trendsetter; now it’s easier than ever get the look you want.

Leave a Reply