Global Fashion: The Headwrap
Words by Isabella Kanjanapangka
Photos by Heidi M. Gress
Styling: Alli Halladay / Taylor Smedley // Makeup: Kate Giddings
Models: Sovrenne, Meg, Sanjana, Jessica, Salma
Considered to be a symbolism of everything from ownership to religious virtue to class distinction to cultural rebellion, the head covering is a controversial topic that elicits the most fervent of emotions and opinions to this very day.
The head wrap, scarf, or covering—a small piece of cloth ranging from modestly plain to flamboyantly bold—used to cover the hair on one’s head is arguably one of the most polarizing yet identifying articles of clothing throughout ancient and modern history. Considered symbolic of everything from ownership to religious virtue to class distinction to cultural rebellion, the head covering remains a controversial topic that continues to elicit fervent emotions and opinions to this very day.
To understand how we got here, it’s necessary to start by examining the rich history of the head covering. The earliest known record dates back to the 13th century, found in interpretations of the Assyrian Code—an ancient legal code developed in the Middle Assyrian Empire. According to The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures, head coverings were used at the time for men to claim ownership over women, which could be attributed to the origin of the bridal veil as we know it today. Notably, head coverings were reserved for women of higher standing, while women of lower class were forbidden from being veiled—an early example of gaslighting women into aspiring to a standard rooted in oppression. A woman who did not wear a head covering was often labeled a prostitute or adulteress.
As history moved forward, early Christians began viewing women’s hair as a distraction in the holy church. Women were required to wear head coverings during public worship and private prayer. The Bible presents the veil as a symbol of modesty, and this symbolism persisted for centuries. Up until at least the 19th century, it was regarded as a religious custom for Christian women across Mediterranean, European, Indian, Middle Eastern, and African societies.
Meanwhile, in 1786 Louisiana, an oppressive law was instituted that forced all Black women to wear the tignon—a large piece of material tied or wrapped around the head to form a kind of turban. It was intended to differentiate Black women from white women and impose a marker of inferiority. Tignons were typically worn by enslaved women to keep their hair up while they worked, and requiring free Black women to do the same was meant as a visual signal of subjugation. But here enters one of the most iconic acts of cultural rebellion in history: Black women embraced the tignon as a mark of beauty, wealth, and creativity—utilizing colorful, expensive fabrics and decorating them with feathers and jewels. What was meant to shame became a statement of pride.
After the abolition of slavery, the tignon fell out of favor due to its associations with oppression. However, it made a resurgence in the early 20th century, when hair extensions became popular and satin-lined headwraps were used to protect hair from heat and humidity. By the 1990s, the natural hair movement gained momentum, and head wraps became a statement piece that declared and celebrated African roots.
The women’s suffrage movement, and the broader fight for women’s empowerment, also played a role in how head coverings evolved. In the 1800s, bonnets and hats began to cover less of the hair and became more fashion statements than religious symbols. They were no longer worn indoors and were instead reserved for practical outdoor purposes—protecting hair and face from the elements. Head coverings gradually shifted from religious symbolism to representations of social class, fashion, and marital status.
Up until World War I, women typically wore caps at home and wouldn’t leave the house without a hat or bonnet, a nod to modesty. But as cultural norms shifted—skirts became shorter and public modesty requirements faded—head coverings outside of church became less common. Then came World War II, and women, filling roles left vacant by men, began covering their hair again for practical reasons, donning turbans, scarves, and hats in the workplace.
The rise of feminism in the 20th century contributed to a decline in head coverings in Western cultures. In 1968, the National Organization for Women (NOW) released a Resolution on Head Coverings, stating:
“The wearing of a head covering by women at religious services is a custom in many churches and whereas it is a symbol of subjection within these churches, NOW recommends that all chapters undertake an effort to have all women participate in a 'national unveiling'... to protest the second-class status of women in all churches.”
Still, religious head coverings remain widely used today and are even experiencing a revival in Western congregations where the practice had waned. In modern times, Christian women wear headscarves in Eastern Europe; shawls in the Middle East, Indian subcontinent, and Russia; head ties in West Africa, the Caribbean, and North America; mantillas in Spain, Latin America, the Philippines, and North America; dupattas in India and Pakistan; maramas in Romania; netelas in Ethiopia and Eritrea; and the kapp and bonnet among Mennonites, Amish, Schwarzenau & River Brethren, and Conservative Quakers in North America.
As a point of contention in modern society, head coverings remain at the center of cultural debate. Case in point: while France bans religious garments—including the Muslim hijab—in state schools, Nike launched the Pro Hijab, becoming the first major athletic brand to offer a performance head covering for Muslim women who choose to wear one.
Through exclusions and bans, we argue, we learn, and we grow—moving slowly but surely toward greater acceptance of our cultural differences. Head coverings, once symbols of control or suppression, now stand as powerful emblems of identity, resistance, beauty, and pride.
Head Scarf
As early as the 1910s French fashion houses were dreaming up designs that included colorful, embellished scarves on the head. Fashion plates for designs by French couturier Paul Poiret show headscarves in bold patterns, sometimes affixed with a centered jewel Hermès debuted its first scarf in 1937, with an elaborate woodblock design on imported Chinese silk. The item became a fixture in high society, worn by Queen Elizabeth II of England, American First Lady Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis and Princess Grace Kelly of Monaco, the last of whom once famously used her Hermès scarf to fashionably sling her injured arm..
DUKU
In Ghana, ‘duku’ is the Akan name given to head wrap. It is mostly tied around the head with a knot at the back, front or the side.This headwrap originated from Africa and is traditionally worn by women in many different countries. It is called 'Duku' in Ghana, 'Gele' in Nigeria and 'Doek' in South Africa.
Turban
The turban frequently covers the whole head, concealing the hair from view, and sometimes the cloth is wrapped around a turban cap rather than directly around the head. Some experts believe that the turban originated in Persia, modern-day Iran, while others think that it was invented by the Egyptians. Notably, it rose to popularity in fashion in the 1910s as a symbol of eastern glamour, while in the 1940s it was worn by everyone from Hollywood stars to land girls. While the fashion turban is widely accepted and worn globally, a classic turban is a symbol of spirituality and holiness in Sikhism.
HIJAB
Primarily associated with Islam, the headscarf has been popular in different parts of the world for a spectrum of cultural, religious, and pragmatic reasons. The hijab, as well as other traditional modest garments, including the abaya and the jilba envelop the body from the neck down. For many women, wearing the hijab was—and is—an element of piety.There is a current rise in Hijabistas, young fashionistas that mix street fashion and influences from the catwalks with the Muslim hijab.
STORYTELLING SCARVES
Many Indigenous peoples share a belief that they emerged from the Earth. The Hopi, the westernmost group of Pueblo Indians, is one of these peoples. The Hopi origin story has it that Hopis used to live beneath the earth. Avid storytellers, designer Jessica Wiarda from the Hopi/Tewa tribes have adapted the visual storytelling of their ancestors and printed them on fabrics used as scarves tied around the head so the pattern can easily be seen.