Miss Caribbean UK 2026 Orinthia Lloyd says she hopes to organise more natural hair workshops in 2027, using her title to encourage women to feel confident wearing and caring for their natural hair. Lloyd set out the plans in an interview published by Nigeria’s The Sun on 8 November. She said she wanted to bring wider wellbeing into the sessions as well. The interview gave an indication of the work she wants to pursue during her reign, with dates, venues and booking details still to be announced.

Lloyd represented Montserrat at the 17 October final at London’s Shaw Theatre. Soca News reported that she won from a field of seven finalists, succeeding Grenada’s Zhané Fritz. The pageant’s own results also record a best dress award for Lloyd. Her interview three weeks later turned the focus to the work she wants to do away from the stage, including education and the development of her natural hair products business.

Connecting craft and community

The pageant describes Lloyd as a fashion management and marketing student, model, hairstylist and makeup artist. Those roles give her more than one way into the subject. Hairstyling involves practical skills and conversation with clients. Fashion and marketing involve decisions about which styles receive attention and how they are presented. Lloyd told The Sun that she wants to make more of her products available and use her platform to help women understand how to care for their hair. Those are two distinct ambitions that readers can follow on their own terms.

A workshop can give people a place to ask questions they might hesitate to raise in a shop or in public. Its usefulness depends on decisions about who it serves and what participants can take away. An introductory session for young people exploring styling could need a different structure from a discussion with experienced stylists or business owners. Lloyd’s interview identifies the theme she wants to develop. The way a session is organised will show how that idea translates into practice.

Her connection to North London is part of the story. She told The Sun that she lives there, has Jamaican heritage and chose the Enfield Caribbean Association as the charity she represented in the pageant. The association describes its own work as supporting the borough’s African-Caribbean community through activities that include advocacy, befriending and cultural events. The pageant profile records the charity choice. The interview sets out Lloyd’s separate plans for workshops without announcing a role for the association in delivering them.

From a title to a programme

Lloyd also told the newspaper that she planned to sell some of her products at the Montserrat Christmas Fair. A stall and a workshop put her in front of audiences in different ways. A stall is an opportunity to meet customers and hear what they ask about. A workshop gives a group more time to talk about a shared topic. If the education plans move forward, published details about the intended audience and the topics to be covered will make it easier to understand what Lloyd wants the programme to achieve.

RIM’s coverage of how Bermudian artists brought poetry, music and film together in Thoughts Become Things looked at a separate example of how communities make their cultural work visible. Lloyd’s plans put the emphasis on a practical craft. For young Black women interested in beauty, fashion or entrepreneurship, a public discussion of that craft can include the work behind the finished style, from the skills involved in serving a customer to the choices that go into building a business. The announcement gives readers an idea of what Lloyd wants to contribute. A published programme would show how people could take part.

*Featured image: AI-generated conceptual illustration for RIM.*

Why this matters

Lloyd’s plans link a Caribbean diaspora platform to everyday questions about confidence, creative skills and small business. For young Black women in Britain and elsewhere, the practical value will depend on how accessible any workshops are and what they offer. The interview establishes her intention, with the delivery details still to come.

Sources

Topics: Orinthia Lloyd · Miss Caribbean UK · Montserrat · Caribbean diaspora · Natural hair · North London

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