Hair Festival 2023, which descended on Sydney’s Carriageworks over the June long weekend, played host to many inspiring facets, from the versatile Education Sessions, to the live competitions, REALtalk business forum and so much more, the aim was to ignite the hair industry from every angle.
Styling legend Sharon Blain was a big part of that as she made her Hair Festival session a closing show as she finishes her career in live education, with a newly released book and online education, including a site relaunch, defining the next phase of her career. From a book signing on the MarketPlace floor, to the sold-out Education Session on the event’s second day, it was a weekend of celebrating the decades of styling inspiration the industry has received from Sharon.
We were in the room during her session to document some of the key takeaways and highlights as Sharon discussed everything from industry thoughts to technical tips and more. Enjoy!
The Power of Floristry
Despite being self-taught in hair, Sharon undertook a Cert III education in floristry, which in turn helped her understand hair in a different way, as well giving her a new perspective on design and dressing hair through the art form of arranging flowers.
“There’s many times as hairdressers, I see it repeatedly in my class, they don’t know when to stop or know when it looks good, with floristry my eye learned when to stop,” she shared.
Foundational Necessity
As she styled three different model looks taken from her 2023 collections, Mademoiselle de The’ and Ethereal, Sharon offered a myriad of technical tips pertaining to up styles, using padding, working with tulle and more. Within these skills, she stressed the significance of condition and hair quality before you start styling.
“You must start with the hair looking polished to start with then slot the tulle in after, it makes a massive difference to the look and feel, then it won’t look dry,” she said. “Prepping is vital, without it you won’t get the looks you’re looking for, you have to put the effort in in the beginning. Smooth the hair, do directional blow dry on the roots of the hair and bend to the hair to create manageable, workable hair.” She also shared that imbuing texture in the hair beforehand can be a great hack in achieving hold.
Staying Relevant
Through over five decades of editorial hair creation, Sharon has made it her business – literally – to stay relevant and keep moving her aesthetic forward. She discussed how necessary this has been to her career longevity through the session.
“The challenge has always been to keep creating hair that people like and that isn’t old fashioned. I hope I’ve inspired you with my styles over the years,” she said. “The day I decided that I would continue in the industry was when I was 50, what I found is that if you’re going to be in the industry you need to be on point, I never wanted to be a ‘has been’, I’ve always pushed myself to stay current and in fashion and have looks that are transferable to the salon, there’s no point coming to a session if you can’t take something home. Trying to stay fresh and true to my beliefs has contributed to my longevity.”
Utilising Storytelling
In editorial creation, Sharon leans on the art of storytelling to aid her own artistic vision and the stylistic process for the team as well. Her recent editorial inspiration was sparked around the idea of a glamorous afternoon tea at the Ritz.
“I always love a story for anything I create, storytelling is really important and gives you a better understanding of where you’re going and instructing other creatives like makeup artists about what you’re doing,” she explained.
Keep It Simple
Within her technical advice, Sharon explained the importance of keeping things simple when necessary, and always staying cohesive.
“It doesn’t have to be big and crazy, it can be small and tight to be interesting,” she said. “Don’t put too many textures on the one head, this is a major problem a lot of people do. Come right back to a focal point and make one thing special then soften everything down.” She also talked of the importance of scale and ensuring the look balances well on the person’s face shape.
The Pitfalls of Social Media
Sharon discussed her concerns with social media from her vantage point, opining that social media had forced some stagnancy in the industry.
“Instagram has made us stuck,” she said, explaining her own creative processes around sketching and drawing to create shapes and experimenting with aesthetics. “Everyone is copying and it takes courage to be individual and not feel you have to be influenced. We see so much of the same that we have lost a lot of our individuality. Look at other people’s work you love but always try to be adventurous.”
There was so much more inspiration through the session, which included a question and answer segment with the audience and technical, industry and product intel from beginning to end. The session ended with a standing ovation and enthusiastic applause as Sharon accepted flowers to honour her illustrious career.
Sharon, take a bow.
For more information visit www.hairfestival.com.au
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