Hair at Anna Sui featured colorful wigs teased upward in the back and razor chopped in the front. Key hairstylist Garren used R+Co’s new Backstage Collection, including the Magic Wand, which he applied to the hair to create a piecey effect. — Alexa Tietjen
Holli Smith was giving haircuts at Helmut Lang. The hairstylist was trimming certain male models’ hair to get it ready for the runway, but most models sported a slicked back look created using Oribe’s Maxximista or Volumista products (depending on hair thickness), which were combed into hair. Then, hair was dried with the Dyson Supersonic diffuser to make sure the comb marks stayed in place, Smith said. “We’re doing a sort of combed-back look, but not overly wet — some people have more product because they have thicker hair,” Smith said.
Hair at Proenza Schouler was tailored to each models’ existing length. “[The models] have their own identity, but they still feel like they belong to the same club,” said key stylist Holli Smith. “The concept for the hair that’s slicked back is where we’re spending most of our time.” For this, Smith used Frédéric Fekkai products to mimic a fresh-out-of-the-shower look. — Alexa Tietjen
“We’re combining organic feel with a tough finish,” said Gary Gill, the hair lead for Aveda. To start, he dried hair forward using the Dyson Supersonic hair dryer, put Texture Tonic through the hair, then braided it and dried it again. After the braids were dry, Gill fluffed the hair back up to create a “fluffy” textured look. “It’s kind of easy and it’s chic. It’s not being too tricky in the way it looks.” — Allison Collins
“Tory is all about classics with a twist,’ said hairstylist Guido Palau for Redken. “Adding [hair extensions] and doing this super long braid gives it an avatar-ish feel. To me it has a fetish-y thing happening — like the tail of a whip.” — Ellen Thomas
The natural look was still in at Carolina Herrera, where Odile Gilbert for Tresemme accentuated models’ natural hair texture with a few styling products and heat tools. “It’s their hair but better,” she said. — Ellen Thomas
Hair at Prabal Gurung featured volume that was further emphasized via slicked-back sides. “It’s a bit feminine and masculine at the same time,” said key hairstylist Odile Gilbert of the look. Using products from TRESemmé, she blow-dried and curled the hair, teasing the front for added height. “It has to look cool and natural at the same time,” she said. – Alexa Tietjen
Intentionally left on the natural side so as not to overpower the makeup look, said Holli Smith. She used Redken’s Guts product to add grit to clean hair, plus Fashion Waves, and then pulled out a few strands just before models hit the runway. “What we always do at Eckhaus, long before it was trending, is really keep people as they are,” Smith said. “They do a lot of street casting … you always see that realness.” – Allison Collins
Hair at Brandon Maxwell was tied into a low bun that hairstylist Bob Recine termed, “the supersonic ballerina.” Low ponytails were broken into several pieces, which were then twisted and pinned into place. To get the look, Racine used Aveda mousse in the hair, and blew the hair flat to the head using the Dyson Supersonic. “It’s making this little squiggle of a bun in the back so it doesn’t get boring with just a little round bun,” Recine said. “It’s a bit more fresh.” – Allison Collins
Models at Tom Ford sported a recycled low, messy bun — the same one Joan Smalls and Gigi Hadid walked with last season, according to hairstylist Orlando Pita. He personalized the hairstyling products to the models’ hair, he said. “We did it last season on Gigi and Joan; they were in the finale without the head wraps — it’s a look that I’ve done for Tom Ford quite a few times,” Pita said. “It’s kind of become a look you expect to see with Tom Ford clothes…because what does he want to convey? A strong confident woman that feels like she owns the world and she doesn’t need all the frill of decoration.” — Allison Collins
Models’ locks were styled in knots that were seemingly falling apart. “I didn’t use products,” said hairstylist Tamara McNaughton. “I know that’s blasphemy, but I think it’s more using the girls’ natural texture. When you put products on, it seals everything down and we wanted to see the realness of all of this. Having clean hair was the most important.” — Alexa Tietjen
Hairstylist Bob Recine created an inverted braid at Ulla Johnson.
“The look is very French, very pretty and chic without being overdone. It’s a great accessory that fits the clothes,” said Jon Reyman for Aveda of the modernized chignon he created for Hellessey. — Ellen Thomas
Kien Hoang applied pearl gloss and tropical leaves to models with free-flowing hair. For those with braids, he used pomade and attached recycled bottle cops on the ends of the extensions. “It’s very ‘out of the ocean,’ Miami, swimwear,” he said. “The look is hand-raked back with pearl gloss. It’s super shiny, like they just came out of the ocean with all these tropical leaves and flowers.” – Alexa Tietjen
For Jeremy Scott’s black and white collection, Eugene Souleiman applied a mixture of powder pigment and gel to black acrylic wigs, harkening back to a similar look he did several seasons ago. “Basically what we’re doing is we’re emulating block printing and screen printing on hair,” he said. “We’re painting the hair in a sporadic but definite way. It’s quite aggressive, how we’re doing it. It’s literally like big stripes.” – Alexa Tietjen
Jawara Wauchope crafted a colorful “crystal overload” hairstyle to amp up the jewels in Area’s latest collection. Using Mr. Smith products, Wauchope braided and twisted crystals into the models’ hair, thus anchoring otherwise heavy headpieces. “The clothes have crystal in them and usually you dumb that down, but I figured we’d amp it up with the hair and put [crystals] all in the hair, all over the ponytail, all in the braids,” he said. —Alexa Tietjen
Frank Rizzieri for Aveda created low ponytails with center parts for models at Tibi. Each ponytail was tied with a sample fabric scrap. —Allison Collins
There were 12 standout hair looks for Sies Marjan, split evenly among girls with black hair and girls with brighter colors. One model dyed her hair a blondish pink specifically for the show, and another wore a bright pink wig. They and other models, with varying degrees of red hair, wore extensions that brought the hair below the waist. “Everyone else is getting a ponytail,” said Duffy, who created the hair look. “The exaggeration of the other girls is a little bit louder, so you feel the romanticism of it.” —Allison Collins
Backstage at Proenza Schouler RTW Fall 2019