Kicki Yang Zhang creates expressive art pieces, using colours mixed by Patricia Bay and hair extensions as a canvas.
Raised between Shanghai and Germany, Kicki carries both worlds in her work. Her practice blurs the space between art, make-up and identity, using her own face as a living surface for expression. Recently she’s been expanding that energy into illustration, drawing from anime, pop culture and the beauty of nature.
For this collaboration, Kicki shifts her medium once again, this time to hair. Together with colourist and stylist Patricia Bay, she created sculptural hair pieces that feel part nature, part fantasy. Each tone was custom-mixed to reflect her visual language.
As her own hair was in a perm at the time of the shoot, Kicki hand-painted the extensions with CHROMA ID in shades of black and red, layering lines and dots like brushstrokes. The process became less about beauty and more about exploration, contrast, control, texture and play. In front of the camera she wore the pieces herself: minimal make-up, clean set, nothing to distract. Just movement, light and the quiet intensity of an artist turning hair into visual storytelling.
“I always say there’s no surface I can’t paint on, so why shouldn’t that include hair?”
Kicki Yang Zang
@kickiyangz
KICKI YANG ZHANG
Patricia Bay is a freelance hairstylist and education trainer, first starting her career in hair in 2007. A multiple nominee for prestigious global hairdressing awards, she’s recognised for her creative vision and technical expertise. Her work includes magazine photoshoots, seminars, and backstage styling at London and Paris Fashion Weeks.
POLKA DOTS
Kicki started with bold black dots on vibrant blonde, exploring graphic shapes and saturated colour. The result felt playful yet precise, a natural extension of her visual language. “I always say there’s no surface I can’t paint on, so why shouldn’t that include hair?” She said.
JELLYFISH
Next came a flowing crimson jellyfish, shaped through movement and form to push the boundaries of hair as a medium. “There are so many colours and shapes you can create with hair. I love the freedom in that,” she reflected.
ANIME
For the final look, Kicki drew inspiration from anime, painting an eye onto a fringe layered over her own. The piece blurred the line between reality and illustration, reflecting her fascination with perception. “My inspiration often comes from nature, from the pop culture I grew up with, and from everything that exists beyond that."
#HAIRSCHWARZKOPFPRO