All About the Custom 5-Ft. Long Crystal Hair Piece Alicia Keys Wore at the 2020 Grammy Awards
After hosting the 61st Annual Grammy Awards last year, Alicia Keys came back for round two.
The 39-year-old musician did not pose for photos on the 2020 Grammy Awards red carpet, but opened the show wearing a silver one-shoulder gown featuring a thigh-high slit, then changed five times throughout the nearly four hour-long ceremony. For the second and fourth looks — the second was a bright pink cropped suit; the fourth constituted of casual bedazzled jeans and a white-shirt — the star wore her hair in braids with spiraled edges and a low bun covered in a custom crystal hair accessory by Jennifer Behr.
Her hairstylist, Nai’vasha, described the look to PEOPLE as, “very quintessential Alicia with a fresh approach.”
“Alicia, her creative director, her stylist, makeup artist and myself all sat around a mood board – its always a very collaborative effort,” Nai’vasha says of the award show glam. “Every decision that we made was based off of wardrobe, how Alicia is feeling, and the release of her music. There are many things to consider!”
Behr, whose editorial hair accessory designs have appeared in Vogue Italia and Vogue Paris, tells PEOPLE that Keys “wanted to do something totally beyond for the Grammys.”
“We make our collection here in New York and are always working on new ideas so the studio is overflowing with materials and crystals and all sorts of treasures,” Behr explains. “The idea for the crystal panels that would be used to create an entirely crystal wrapped bun came when I showed her how we make crystal embroidery for headbands.”
“It was like a light bulb went off when we realized we could custom make 5 foot long embroideries that she could use to wrap the hair,” the designer adds. “[Nai’vasha] used one panel for Alicia’s first look and then added as the night went along. It was such a stunning look — like an entirely crystal bun.”
“We found teeny tiny Swarovski crystals to float in her spiral edges and along her part,” Behr tells PEOPLE. “We experimented with the idea of doing chains or cording but decided the floating crystals would give Nai’vasha a lot of freedom to experiment on the day of the show.”
For Keys’ fifth outfit, bedazzled jeans paired with a white t-shirt, the star swapped out her cornrow braids for a sleek pulled back style but left the dramatic Jennifer Behr crystal hairpiece wrapped around her low-hanging bun.
In 2019, Keys — who was the first woman to host the show in 14 years — lit up the Grammy Awards red carpet in a plunging red gown accessorized with a Bulgari necklace, earrings and ring (on her right hand).
Speaking to PEOPLE ahead of her big night, the 37-year-old singer shared that she was “feeling” a “colorful” look.Another outfit requisite? Keys’ ensemble had to feel “effortless.”
“There’s definitely an elegance, but, the worst thing is standing there and wanting to have a good time but worrying that your boob is going to fall out! I don’t want that. I want to be beautiful, but also feel totally calm, confident, powerful and empowered to be completely in my moment.”
Be sure to check out PEOPLE’s full Grammy Awards coverage to get the latest news on music’s biggest night.
The singer, who’s worn everything from embellished sneakers to jeans to the Grammys over the years, told PEOPLE that getting dressed for any big event is all about staying true to yourself.
“Fashion is such a representation of your energy, your own personal style and your expression of art.”
The “No One” singer made her Grammys debut 18 years ago.
“That particular experience is so seared into my brain,” Keys recalled of the 2002 event, where she was nominated for six awards. Despite being sick that evening, everything felt “unreal.”
