Every season beau-tistas wonder” what will we be doing with our hair when the runways are cleared away and the reality of the season is upon us? Well, you really don’t have to wait anymore because it seems like individuality is key.
At a holiday event I attended with Guido, Redken’s Global Creative Director, he opined that there isn’t just one “look” anymore, and that frankly, hair on the runway is meant to be conceptual but that women should not slavishly follow it.
But now it’s the dead of Winter and we’re in the middle of Fashion Week in New York, looking at what’s going to be trendy for Fall/Winter next year. That got me bundled up and briskly walking to”The Salon” backstage area at Lincoln Center to talk to Rodney Cutler for Tadashi Shoji’s Fall/Winter 2015 runway show that was going to start in about two hours. Rodney Cutler is the owner of three salons in New York and South Beach (I go to the one on 57th Street in Manhattan). I met Rodney many years ago when backstage at Fashion Week wasn’t so crowded with beauty writers longing for a first-hand peek before the shows began. But Rodney is a top hair authority and one of Redken’s Brand Ambassadors (watch for my report coming soon on a whole new collection of frizz-fighting products from Redken called “Frizz Dismiss” which featured Rodney at the NY Editor’s event).
I love watching Rodney Cutler work his magic! Photo by Alison Blackman
sometimes it takes a lot of hands to do the hair correctly. Photo by Alison Blackman
It’s busy backstage, so I didn’t get a lot of time to chat as in the old days, but Rodney did describe the look for Tadashi as follows: “This collection is all about airy, easy, elegance with a fresh take on old Hollywood style. Once I saw the fabrics, I knew I wanted to complement this idea. The hair looks luxe with the voluminous curls, but young and sleek in the front with the severe part and silky texture.”
these are formal photographs for Cutler Salon of the hair looks
you can see a model still in her own clothes walking the runway during rehearsal with her hair pinned up
the models kept their hair pinned up until the very last moment
Hair that looks sleek and smooth like this with a lot of bounce and shine may look effortless, but it takes a lot of product and skill to get it to look (and stay) that way. For starters, once the girls had their hair blown and curled, it was pinned up through rehearsal and right up until show time when I saw Rodney and his team literally race backstage from the front of house rehearsal, after the run-through to comb out all that hair. And it takes at least some product. If you want to try this look at home, here’s the Step-by-Step:
1. Apply a generous amount of Redken Full Frame 07 – All Over Volumizing Mousse from roots to ends of towel-dried hair.
2. Create a deep side part and separate three sections. Two in the front, from the side part directly down behind the ears, and a third in the back with the remaining hair.
3. Blow dry the back section with an upward motion to create volume. Blow dry side sections pulling the hair away from the face for a slicked back look.
4. Curl full head using a 1 1/4 inch curling iron. Pin each curl to the head using U pins. Allow hair to cool.
5. Once hair is set (cold) gently brush to drop the curl and smooth the crown, for a natural amount of volume.
6. Rub a dime size amount of Redken Velvet Gelatine 07 – Cushioning Blow Dry Gel into your hands, apply where needed to keep the sides flat and neat. Brush through.
7. Spray Redken Wind Blown 05 – Dry Finishing Spray all over to secure look. Styling Products: Redken Full Frame 07 – All Over Volumizing Mousse, $17.00,; Redken Velvet Gelatine 07 – Cushioning Blow Dry Gel, $18.00, Redken Wind Blown 05 – Dry Finishing Spray, $22.00
purchase the products: authorized salons such as CutlerSalon or visit the Redken Web Site to find a salon near you
this is one of my photos I took of the models on the runway. Note that even thought the hair is straight, it has tons of bounce and movement as the models, walk!
for the makeup and nail looks, click here
*all photos except for the three formal shots for Cutler are by Alison Blackman. Please ask permission (use my contact form) if you wish to use them.
