From mohawks to braids: photographing vaginas with intricate hairstyles

Earlier this year, Mexican menswear fashion designer Bárbara Sánchez-Kane teamed up with photographer Dorian Ulises Lopez and hair stylist Mariana Palacios on a project about female sexuality. A series of intimate portraits of pubic hairstyles, ranging from mohawks and braids to ponytails and piercings, the CUCA Project pays homage to the female sexual organ.

“It symbolizes sexual freedom for women,” says Barbara. “Framing the vagina as a temple, a visual space to explore ourselves, it aims to combat the stigma and shame surrounding female sexuality and pleasure.” A visual manifestation of the ‘my body my choice’ mantra, for Barbara, “beauty comes from letting a woman know she is the absolute owner of her body and presides over it.”

Creative Direction: Sánchez-Kane
Photographer: Dorian Ulises Lopez
Hair: Mariana Palacios