Gabrielle Union’s Fulani Braids Have the Most Subtle-Yet-Intricate Detail

For Gabrielle Union, a project she says is unlike any other she’s done before calls for nothing less than gorgeous Fulani braids. On September 8, the actress arrived at the Toronto International Film Festival to attend the world premiere of The Inspection, an A24 production starring Union as the homophobic mother of an aspiring gay Marine who endlessly seeks her approval. 

She says on the film’s Instagram page that this project stands as the most important and challenging work she’s ever done. Union, sporting a Vivienne Westwood pearled choker, spoke with great poise as two defining plaits fell in front of her face, inching below the temples (a signature factor of this particular protective hairstyle). 

At about earlobe length, a thread of what looks like black latex ribbon was woven into her two font-facing braids — a detail so subtle that it simply camouflaged into her brunette locks. Union’s hairstylist then followed the pattern of her middle-parted crown and strictly styled the remainder of her braids back behind the shoulders, focusing all the emphasis on her glowing décolletage.