00:00Hi everyone, um, the broccolini was good. Okay. I firstly just want to thank everyone, uh, here in
00:12style. Thank you. This is really awesome. It's really beautiful. And it's truly my greatest
00:17honor tonight to be celebrating and loving on and just talking about Lacey Redway tonight.
00:25Yeah, it's just, it's my honor. So here we go. Like Kerry Washington, I'm going to start by talking
00:31about myself, um, just to provide some context about where I was at when I first met Lacey.
00:39So as a woman, but I, I think even more as a black woman, hair is very, very sensitive and personal
00:50and emotional. And I think that's whether or not you grew up getting it styled or pressed,
00:57or if you had it natural, it's just, it's just, it's a thing. And I didn't grow up going to salons.
01:03My mom and my aunts did my hair, my German father, God bless him, could never figure that out. So I
01:10only had this like very intimate familial experience with styling. And eventually I started exploring
01:17myself and doing my own thing. And I kind of just like perfected three different looks, which was
01:24a big fluffy bun, half up, half down, and then like a low pullback bun. And that's it. But this poses a
01:31problem when you need to start showing up on red carpets or movie sets and you need more than three
01:37looks. And I just couldn't really trust anyone else. It just wasn't something I felt very comfortable
01:44with. And my wonderful publicist, she told me that my hair was really beautiful and wonderful,
01:50but that I really should try someone. But I was very nervous because my whole life I was constantly
01:56met with confusion and questions regarding my Afro. And as someone who was new to the industry,
02:02the idea of opening up this Pandora's box of insecurities just felt really destabilizing. And I
02:08just felt so attached to my hair identity. And I didn't want to have this hair convo. I just
02:13wasn't into it. But Marla, my publicist, she, yeah, Marla's amazing. She told me, she was like,
02:21trust me, trust me. Lacey Redway is going to be your person. And she was right. Lacey indeed is and
02:34yes, is my person. We met at my first Emmys. And I had sent her some obscure references,
02:41including Marie Antoinette, which she knows is my number one reference. Every look, I'm like,
02:46I want to look like Marie Antoinette. And you know what? She was like, she didn't blink. She was
02:52like, all right, girl, let's do it. Like, I don't know. I'd never met her before. She was like,
02:56I don't know what's going on. But I think this is where her collaboration thrives.
03:01She can translate any image, idea, or sound or concept into hair. She has such good taste. And
03:12she consistently elevates your idea into something better. I can trust her. I can trust fall with her.
03:21And as I said before, I'm kind of conservative about my hairstyles that like I do at home.
03:24But Lacey allows me to explore. She pushes me. She has just like an innate aesthetic. She's profoundly
03:34creative. You feel safe making a silly suggestion. She volleys ideas with you. She yes ands you,
03:42which I know the actors around here will know that. And she'll push you with love. She'll say,
03:50let's try this style, even though you're nervous. And she recently, she convinced me to do,
03:54I haven't done cornrows in so long, because I have a, I feel like I have a small head. So I feel
03:59like to make my head look smaller. But it was really cute. And it was a little finger wave. And
04:03actually, Kerry Washington saw me with that. Look, yes, she did. We sat next to each other at another
04:09really fun dinner. And I loved it, as per usual. Because with Lacey, I know that I can always land
04:17on my feet. She's obviously talented. But it's also how she goes about her work that makes her so
04:23special. I'm sure everyone in this room knows that this kind of work is really intimate. You're in
04:31each other's houses. You're in each other's mess. I'm naked in front of her all the time as she helps
04:36me tape my boobs into place. You're together. It's early. It's late. You're abroad. You're crusty.
04:42It's like uncertainty during really vulnerable moments. The show must always go on during heartbreak,
04:48during family difficulty, during pain, during sickness. But Lacey doesn't judge. She just shows
04:58up with a genuine smile. She's quiet and observant when you're needing some time to focus. But then
05:05she'll kiki when it's time to kiki. She'll drink a green tea with you. She'll make you food.
05:10She'll ask you, are you sure you're comfortable with that dress? Because I can say something if you're
05:14not comfortable with that dress. And then I'm like, oh my gosh, no. I'm an adult. I can go tell
05:19them that I'm not comfortable with the dress. But it's nice that Lacey's there to hype you up and,
05:22you know, let you know that it's okay to have a thought. And we've been working together for,
05:29I think it's like 10 years now. I think it's over 10 years now. We've both changed. We've grown.
05:37She continues to transform more and more into the woman that I hope to grow up to be one day.
05:42She's my rock in this industry. I love her as a hairstylist. But most importantly,
05:50I love her as a friend. I mean, we've been all over the world. We've been in London and Paris and
05:58New Jersey. We're borrowing each other's clothes and we cuddle up in hotel beds and we watch Alone
06:03on the History Channel. And we've talked about dreams for her beautiful and creative son,
06:08her most important person, her guiding light. She's inspired by him and just loves spending time
06:14with him. And we muse about ways to let his budding theater interest thrive. She's my sister.
06:21She's a mentor. She's deeply empathetic. She's deeply committed to her clients and to the people
06:27who work with her and for her. She has an unmatched work ethic and has risen to the top of her industry
06:34while fiercely maintaining her sensitivity, her kindness, and her grace. And that's really hard
06:42to do. I just respect so much that she's managed to balance warmth and care with being this powerhouse
06:48that she is. This immense talent. She can do anyone's hair. Any texture. She can do a soft blowout.
06:57She can do a textured sculpture. She can lead a runway team. She can do a morning show special and
07:03teach you how to elevate your big messy bun or your half up, half down, or your little low little bun.
07:10She can add tiny dainty daisies to your delicate curls and she can weave in wires and engineer your
07:16crown. She can say yes and she does. It's powerful and it's magnificent and I am just so incredibly proud
07:25of her. So I love you, Lacey. Congratulations. You have most certainly earned this wonderful moment.
07:36I've never been celebrated at this level before, so thank you InStyle for recognizing us. You know,
07:44I'm a little overwhelmed, as you guys can see. I've had like one birthday party in my lifetime,
07:51so I'm so grateful for you guys all to be here celebrating artists. I came up in a time in
07:59industry like pre-social media where we are, you know, sort of like, you know, trained to just be
08:05behind the scenes and sort of just let the work speak and, you know, clearly the work is still speaking,
08:12you know, as we're all here celebrating artists. I come from an immigrant family.
08:17I come from Jamaica, the island, and so this, you know, this was, you know, having this sort of like honor
08:30was never, you know, it's like beyond my wildest dream. I grew up in New Jersey and, you know, I was the
08:40girl in school that like did everybody's hair and I didn't realize that I was, you know, already becoming
08:46an image maker because I was like helping everyone to feel beautiful that even back then. It's really
08:51special to be here, you know, so, you know, so many years later and realize that, you know, your work
08:59is really what brings you these opportunities. I've had the fortune to meet and collaborate with so many
09:06incredible people at work who have become like family, like Z. And, you know, what's so special
09:14about Zassi is that she's somebody that will fight for you, you know. The artists in, you know, in the
09:22room will know that, you know, there's opportunities that come up for people like Carrie had spoken
09:27about where, you know, you don't always get a choice to pick, you know, who comes on set. And Zassi
09:33is so fiercely loyal that she's not afraid to vouch for you and to push, you know, to make sure that
09:42you're there so that, you know, she feels, you know, safe, you know. And I think that's a huge part
09:49of being an image maker. You know, we make people feel safe, you know. And she's not afraid of either
09:55walking away from an opportunity or losing it because the industry makes you feel like, you know,
10:00you have to say yes to everything. She will fight for you and I'm so grateful for that. And, you know,
10:08and we are loyal to each other, you know. And we've shared so many beautiful moments. Like she said,
10:14she's come to my house, like I've cooked for her. Like, you know, she, you know, we share so many
10:20intimate moments together. We're family, you know. So it's so special to have you here to help
10:27celebrate me and I'm so grateful. I am also so grateful to InStyle, you know, for, you know,
10:35recognizing me and my peers tonight. I'm honored to be a symbol as well for, you know, other artists,
10:43you know, specifically, you know, black and brown women that, you know, don't always get the
10:49opportunity. You know, as Zassi mentioned, you know, I do work with so many different hair types
10:54and textures. But still, you know, in this industry, it's still a fight where, you know,
10:59there are people that only consider you for one particular thing. So, you know, it's, it's,
11:05I'm grateful for people at InStyle that always highlight my work and, and, and, you know, help to
11:11elevate me as an artist. I'm, I'm super grateful for that. Specifically, I, you know, as a black woman
11:18in the industry, like, you know, sometimes you're only called on to, you know, when someone has a
11:23black client, you know, and it's like, wait, well, hold on. I do everything. Why are you only,
11:28why are you putting me in this sort of box? So I'm, I'm grateful for the people at InStyle,
11:34you know, Lauren, you know, who's always just been so, so great to me and, and also for you guys to not
11:41give up on me. You know, they've asked me to be here before and, and, you know, it didn't work out,
11:45but I'm just so grateful for this opportunity. I'm overwhelmed. So that I'm going to keep it
11:50short, but thank you guys for honoring me. I appreciate you guys.
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