Report by Anna-Marie Solowij
Big head or small head? That’s the key question that hair stylists ask designers before they start prepping the hair for a show.
The decision hangs on the degree of detail around the neck and shoulders. “When the neckline is busy, designers prefer to keep the head small, so as not to detract from the design,” says L’Oréal Paris session stylist Alain Pichon. Despite this, for Eun Jeong’s show, Pichon sent the girls out with huge, frizzed manes. “We did a tiny head last season, so it had to go the other way,” he laughs.
The volumising spray was out at Emilio de la Morena, too, where the Bumble and Bumble session stylist, James Pecis, created ‘youthful volume’. Bumble’s Thickening Hairspray should be top of your list, along with Charles Worthington’s brilliant new Front Row Dry Shampoo, the pro choice for building body at the roots.
For Kinder Aggugini, Malcolm Edwards for L’Oréal Professionnel maxed out on volume, giving the girls ‘Coke can’ curls. “The whole collection was about exaggeration and playing with scale,” he said.
Bigging up barnets elsewhere, Sam McKnight spent 30 minutes on each girl at Mulberry [see above], crimping and backcombing to create a fittingly fairground candyfloss ’do, while, at Westwood, Peter Grey was on a backcombing bonanza, too.
In contrast, hair minimalists included Osman with sleek ponytails, Veryta’s mussed-up topknots, and Louise Gray, whose neater knots were shot through with neon hair extensions.
It’s telling that the topknot has emerged as the most popular style among the fashion set this week. I counted 17 in the audience at Unique, which was officially a ‘bigger’ hair show. Despite the lure of the Toni & Guy on-site hair salon (brilliant blow-dries in 20 minutes) and
LFW press invitations for Daniel Hersheson’s Blow Dry Bar on Conduit Street, the temptation to just twist it into a knot is more appealing after a night of partying with a 9am show the next day.
Perhaps the best solution is to have it both ways. For Graeme Black’s show, Sam McKnight created a small head with a big, backcombed bun. Now who says fashion isn’t accommodating?
