This Etsy Seller Just Did The Hair At Marc Jacobs’ Fashion Show

Have you ever thought about making extra money selling DIY projects on Etsy? Well, that’s what Jena Counts from Florida decided to do with her homemade wool dreadlocks. With 78 sales under her belt, it seems Jena’s done pretty well since opening her online shop last year. But here’s where it gets interesting: Despite having only 37 followers on her account, she somehow managed to catch the attention of Marc Jacobs—so intently that she was flown to New York Fashion Week to work side by side with the legendary Guido Palau and personally apply her wool creations to models’ hair backstage at Marc’s show. How’s that for an Etsy success story?

Models walked the Marc Jacobs runway today wearing the pastel-colored dreads to evoke gypsies and rave culture. Think fashion girls at Burning Man. Another source of inspiration for the beauty look was Marc’s friend and co-director of The Matrix, Lana Wachowski, known for her colorful dreadlocks.

While Jena may have won the professional lottery, it’s safe to assume that her larger-than-life gig will come with its share of backlash. Similar hairpieces were posted on Free People’s e-commerce site last month with the description, “Add a little something extra to your ‘do with these colorful dreadlock extensions featuring wood, bead and flower accents.” The Internet responded with a flurry of cultural appropriation criticism and others urged the retailer to pull the product, calling it offensive. The item has since been removed.