Clad in haute hats and sexy scarves, the models strutted the catwalk at New York’s Fashion Week with their heads — and hair —held back and high.
More than 200 designers unveiled their fall collections in early February amid a plethora of ponytails, updos and slicked-back straight locks. Only a daring few designers and stylists ventured into volume with textured tresses proudly described as “messy,” “undone” and “imperfect.”
Take Twinkle, for example. Models donned edgy, yet elegant curls under the guidance of stylist Thomas Hintermeier.
“The collection is a crossover between the ‘20s and the ‘60s, in my opinion,” Hintermeier says. “I wanted to do something that was very easygoing, with the feeling of the Chelsea girls, like London in the 60s, and also the harshness of the ‘20s because of the kind of fabrics, cuts and off colors.”
To concoct this crossover look, Hintermeier uses crimping and curling irons. He starts with Redken’s 09 hairspray — and lots of it.
“It’s a very dry spray because I didn’t want a wet look or too much shine,” he says.
Next comes the crimping, but quickly. He just presses gently for volume, followed by a blast from a blowdryer. Then, he curls random sections with a large-barrel curling iron for a touch of elegance. Hintermeier says many curlies could skip crimping and just brush out or blow dry their natural curls for the same effect.
“Finally, I draped the hair into the hats and scarves, to give a wintery romantic feeling of the ’60s, and still with a little hardness of the ’20s,” he says. “So you have two looks together — one is extremely textured and then you have, in some parts, nice curls.”
Although the style is eye-catching on the runway, Hintermeier cautions that it may be a bit over the top for every day.
Looking for a more subdued, swept-away style? Here, two new slants to the sophisticated updo that can upstage any soiree – complete with makeup tips to finish off the look.
Designer: Loris Diran
Stylist: Christo, Christo Fifth Avenue Salon
Inspiration: Hollywood glamour
The look: Undone UpdoFirst, curl expert Christo of New York’s Christo Fifth Avenue Salon brings Hollywood curls back to life — with a twist — for Loris Diran’s collection.
“The hair is going to go up, but there are a lot of waves to it,” Christo says. “We’ll scrunch the curls a bit to create texture, and twist it into a chignon in the back, but very undone.”
Christo suggests settling into this sexy style after a day of carefree curls.
“The very next day, take a curling iron and curl the hair,” he explains. “Then mess the curls up a little bit and tease the root area so it doesn’t look so sleek. Then direct the hair back with little pins below the crown, so you don’t see them. Next, the hair goes up, with a little bit of height by the crown, and comes down to the low nape in a side chignon twist, but it will look a bit undone, beautiful and sexy.”
Christo works his magic with Curlisto Shaping Spray.
“It’s a light, dry spray, so if I spray hair to hold it, and for some reason didn’t like the way it looked, I can brush it out,” he says.
The final touch is a spritz of Curlisto’s Glow & Shine.
Next, it’s off to makeup, where the look is modern — “a smoky-eye kind of vampy,” says makeup artist Aaron Mitchell. “The drama is in the eyes. The colors are a lot of browns on the fair-skinned women, and silvers on the dark-skinned women to create a more three-dimensional look.”
He starts with MAC’s Spring Up, applied to the eyelid and brow bone.
“Then, we’re going to use a Stila eyeshadow in Twig in the corners of the eyes and right under the eye,” Mitchell says. “You just add it at the end of the lid in a v-formation so it creates that smoky eye.”
For darker-skinned models, he turns to a Lancome eyeshadow in Dark Room, a midnight blue-gray color. For highlighting the brow and lid, he opts for Nars eyeshadow in Katmandu.
On the cheeks, a dab of Lilicent creme blush by MAC reveals a natural dewy look. For another hint of drama, Mitchell adds Belightful, an iridescent powder blush by MAC, around the eye and toward the temples, with a dusting down the bridge of the nose.
Lips are lined in MAC’s Subculture. “It’s very natural,” says Mitchell, who then dabs a lip brush in Vaseline to blend it in. “Lip gloss tends to wear off sometimes, while Vaseline looks super shiny and doesn’t move.”
“The looks we create, anyone can create with little or no budget,” he adds with a smile. “You can use any kind of makeup as long as you apply it right. It’s all about the color and the application.”
Designer: Gemma Khang
Stylist: Hirofumi Kera, Shiseido
Inspiration: Renaissance paintings
The look: Imperfect, voluminous bunsHistory, rich with complexity, is what Gemma Khang turns to for inspiration.
“I pick different periods and places — and this time it happens to be Renaissance paintings from Europe,” Khang says. “Some of the garments have many different textures in one garment, like lace, fur and some gathering.”
The colors are black and white, splashes of red and neutral browns. The hair signals a touch of glamour. It’s up, but far from uptight. Shiseido stylist Hirofumi Kera shows how he puts the va-va-voom in this voluminous updo.
“Use a sculpting spray pull the hair back and and make two parts in the back —splitting the top and bottom,” Kera says.
Then, as a filler for volume, add a spot extension and place it in the center of the top half and another in the center of the bottom half. Next, make two asymmetric buns — rolling hair down from the top and up from the bottom and pin it, but not so coifed.
“We’re making shapes that are done kind of imperfect,” Khang explains.
“Like a renaissance painting, the look is pale skin with a really flushed cheek,” adds makeup artist Ayako, who selects Nars blush in Luster and Mata Hari. “The blush is applied below the cheekbones, right where your dimples are — or where they would be if you had them — to create a look that’s a little edgy, but innocent.”
If you look too flushed, don’t start over. Just dust the cheek with translucent powder, says Ayako, who softens the cheeks of a model with Nars loose powder in Snow.
“The shimmer is only on the eyelid, following the crease of the lid and smudged under the eye,” says Ayako, applying Nars Madrague eyeshadow on the lid and Nars Kalahari and Night Rider in the crease. “No concealer, no mascara.”
For the sensuous pout, Ayako reaches for Nars Tempest lip gloss first, and then Nars lipstick in Promiscuous to temper the shine. Finally, a light dusting of powder creates a matte finish.
“You cannot do just a lip gloss and put a powder on top of it,” she warns. “It’s too greasy. That’s why you blend the gloss with a lipstick, then dust with powder. It’s a very soft, natural look, powdered white, so it’s dramatic!”
At Fashion Week, it’s always about the drama.
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