In this new exhibition and publication by photographer Francesca Allen, who has shot for DAZED, i-D and American Vogue among others, the World’s Longest Hair competition becomes her subject. Once a year, hundreds of women with thousands of feet of hair flood into a Lithuanian arena for, “a folkloric beauty pageant where obsession, tradition and identity converge”. With an accompanying text by i.D international editor Frankie Dunn, this intimate and inquiring project explores the contemporary emotional and cultural significance of long hair in 2025.

Notably surreal, the images trigger memories of strange girls in pop culture or Dorothea Tanning’s uncanny paintings. Drawn to the odd spectacle, the British photographer travelled to Konkursas Pasaulio Ilgaplaukes to document the competition firsthand. Plaukai is Lithuanian for hair, and this series captures almost 200 participants, “from young girls with untouched locks, to older women whose hair pools at their feet as they walk the runway, get measured by gloved judges and take part in a ritualistic finale that must be seen to be believed”.

As a London based photographer and director, Francesca Allen is known for her intimate depictions of girlhood and the coming-of-age experience. Her work has been exhibited in institutions including London’s Somerset House and The Photographer’s Gallery and she has published the photo books, ‘I’d like to get to know you’ (2022), and ‘Aya’ (2018), and for this project she brings the extraordinary series to Allotment gallery in East London.

Private View & Publication Launch
Wednesday 18 June 2025 18:00-21:00
18-25 June 2025 appt only
Allotment, Unit 8, Ability Plaza, Arbutus Street, E8 4DT