Beyond her record-breaking career, track and field star Sha’Carri Richardson has captivated audiences worldwide with her unique style. Inspired by track legends like Gail Devers and the late Florence Griffith Joyner (Flo-Jo), Richardson became known early on for rocking vibrant wigs and unique nail extensions.
So much so that when the star returned to the national track field stage after her disqualification in the 2021 Olympics, she went viral for tossing her wig off moments before running in the 2023 U.S. championships, revealing long cornrows beneath.
“Now, I stand here with you again, and I’m ready, mentally, physically and emotionally,” the sprinter said after winning the race, as previously reported by theGrio. “I’m here to say, ‘I’m not back, I’m better.’ ”
Now, a year after her viral moment, Richardson revealed in a behind-the-scenes interview with Vogue how a spark of an idea quickly became a symbolic moment in her career.
“I’m not gonna change the confidence that I have in myself ever. But at the same time, I have learned there is a way that I can carry that so much more gracefully. That’s where that moment came from,” she told the publication. “I only could get to this point through experience and having the right people around me. I know that no matter what I do, no matter what decision I make, I know that it comes from me.”
At the time, her hairstylist, Key Rentz, who is responsible for Richardson’s array of braided hairstyles, admitted she was confused by the track star’s plans.
“I was like, ‘Oh no, she didn’t like her hair. Why does she still have the wig on?’” Rentz recalled. She said that when she saw Richardson rip off the wig, “I was like, ‘Oh my God. Yes, ma’am, I know that’s right.’ I understood the symbolism when she did it. I understood where she was coming from.”
While she may have abandoned wearing vibrant wigs on the track, Richardson continues to sport long acrylic nails during her races. In addition to being a fashion statement, the athlete’s nails represent a part of her legacy and track history. As she prepares to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics, Richardson says her intricate manicures are an ode to her grandmother, who maintained long nails while raising her, and Black female athletes like Flo-Jo, who continue to inspire her bold fashion.
“Flo-Jo’s influence on me definitely comes from her creativity and her freedom to express herself in a way that no other female athlete has ever done,” she explained. “Showing beauty, yet being able to show hard work.”
Just as her predecessors paved the way for her to express her creativity within sports, Richardson hopes her career shows how “athletes can be fashionable just as much as they can be athletes.”
“Fashion and sports are one [and] the same… an expression of self, an expression of flow.
“I feel like fashion is the flow of the body. Fashion is the flow of expression. Fashion relates to the way that I move my body. The way that I run down the track is almost like the same way I could strut down the runway,” she said, adding: “Look good, feel good, do good. That all relates to the mental aspect, the emotional aspect, and ultimately the physical.”