Throughout the movie, Bassett's character wore a cylindrical hat which was inspired by the traditional headdress of the married Zulu woman. When the scene switched to Bassett, sans hat and with her locks flowing down her back as white as the snow behind her, it was pure magic for me.
Sure every movie needs actors, stunt men and a score, but to instantly change the look of any actor or actress requires make-up and a skilled wig maker.
Natascha Ladek, the creator of the Bassett's Ramonda wig, inspired me so much that I made my first dread lock wig in the months after Black Panther -- you guys can refer to my blog about it.
All these months I have been trying to connect with this awesome wig maker. This past week I was finally able to connect with her . And, just as I suspected, Ladek , has been very busy.
Born in Austria, Vienna, Ladek told me that she went to beauty school at age 17 and after three years graduated as a hairdresser/wigmaker.
"That's your title when you complete beauty school in Vienna."
Ladek could have easily landed a job at the opera in Vienna but at 20 decided to move to Los Angeles, California where she apprenticed with a wig maker for three years. She also got the opportunity to work on movie sets as a hairdresser.
It was the movie Selena, which starred Jennifer Lopez, that made those in the industry sit up and take notice of Ladek's work.
"Working on shows and movies helped me get my name out as a wig maker. In my first big movie , Selena, I made all the wigs for Jennifer Lopez," Ladek said.
Her wigs were also seen on the movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Brad Pitt, A Wrinkle in Time - Reese Witherspoon and Blindside Sandra Bullock.
"I also worked with Sandra Bullock on Ocean's 8 and Bird Box."
Ladek's small screen work include Days of Our Lives for which she won an Emmy in 1997 and 1999 for Outstanding Hairstyling for a Drama Series Days of Our Lives (shared with Rod Ortega, Garry Allyn, Fabrzio Sanges, Kelly Muldoon) - 1999 and (Terrie Valazquez Owen, Thomas Real) - 1997.
It was Camille Friends, who Ladek met 25 years ago while working on a show together, who made it possible for Ladek to work on Black Panther.
" I love working with Camille. She created the concept of Angela's look.
"The dreads were pre-made (since it would have taken even longer than 4 weeks to make. "
Ladek explained the wig making process she used for the Queen Ramonda dreadlocks: "I took a section of the wig hair and put it through a thick sewing needle and attached the dreads to the wig row by row-- about 100 of those, and it was fairly heavy."
"The wig took about 14 days to make and the dreads another week or so. All in all, the whole wig took a little over three weeks to create."
Ladek said she didn't get to see Bassett's reaction to the dread lock wig once it was put on her head, but says: "I was told she was very pleased."
Ladek whose movie credits also include The Help, Tower Heist (Ben Stiller) , The Experiment (Forest Whitaker), Resident Evil - Retribution (Milla Jovovich) and GI Joe Retaliation, said she has worked on several Marvel movies since Black Panther but that she wasn't sure if it was because of her work on the blockbuster movie or her reputation as an emerging movie wig maker.
Look out for Ladek's wigs in the 2019 movie Judy, which stars Renee Zellwegger -- who Ladek has worked with for the past 11 years and in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood which stars Brad Pitt and Leonardo De Caprio.
Whether you're interested in movies or wig making , follow Natascha Ladek on Instagram @wigsbynat to see more of her wig making.
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| Nastascha Ladek's dread lock wig worn by Angela Bassett in the movie Black Panther. |
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| Jennifer Aniston became a brunette thanks to a Natascha Ladek wig in the movie Horrible Bosses |
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| That's Ladek's wig that Reese Witherspoon is wearing in the movie A Wrinkle in Time |
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| Wig maker Natascha Ladek with actor Sylvester Stallone who is wearing one of her wigs. |
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| Brad Pitt is almost unrecognisable in this black wig designed by Ladek for his role in the Curious Case of Benjamin Button |
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