Afterpay Australian Fashion Week took over Carriageworks through May for a week dedicated to all things fashion, beauty and hair, and Avant Garde, high fashion and salon ready hair looks caught our eyes from the runway.

With leading hair brand Redken returning as the event’s Official Hair Sponsor, and renowned editorial hairdressers and hair directors such as Richard Kavanagh, Diane Giorgievski, Kristy Hodgson, Jacky Chan and Justin Pace directing trends and creating hair art backstage, there was plenty to learn from the trend makers.

We look back on some must-see looks from fashion’s ultimate week, thanks to Redken.

Iordanes Spyridon Gogos

Three artistic hair concepts complemented one-of-a-kind couture for Iordanes Spyridon Gogos, as Richard Kavanagh experimented with geometric shapes like cubes, spheres and cones, channelling 60s vogue editorials, alongside a futuristic super slicked gelled texture, as well as conceptual hair pieces artistically created by Richard to mimic the design motifs. Richard harnessed themes such as a trojan horse and a teddy bear to create crowns and waves, made of hair and gel.

“For the Iordanes Spyridon Gogos show there was an opportunity to push the boundaries of what is achievable on the runway and create impactful sculptural moments with the hair,” Richard said. “The best way I can describe the hair is that there are three families of crazy – [designer] Jordan [Gogos] said to me ‘I want you to think about Akira and origami and express your creativity, when you feel like you get to your limit, jump over the edge’.”

Acler

Wearable luxury was the brief for Acler, with Diane Gorgievski creating a high-end, dropped ponytail for an off-site show that was the picture of contemporary class.

“We incorporated some standout ponytails that combined both shine and a soft aerated finish so that they flowed with movement on the new Resort ’24 collection. We also featured Acler’s bespoke gold hardware in the hair,” Diane said.

Next Gen

To style the looks of emerging designers, Justin Pace created two key looks your clients will covet.

“The first key look was a ponytail top knot with a soft hairline and a mixture of wet and dry textures throughout, to ensure the models’ locks flowed majestically down the catwalk. The second look was an effortless blowout with hair tucked behind the ears to emulate that popular sexy style that we’ve seen on the runway a lot this year,” Justin said.

Erik Yvon

Joy, individuality and beautiful chaos was the approach to Erik Yvon, as styled by Jacky Chan with the appropriate amount of colour.

“We wanted to make this fun and eye-catching – it was all about the Erik Yvon brand and what the designs looked like. We utilised three different looks, some with stencil and pops of pink, and then we created some glitter looks and hair pieces for a really fun runway,” Jacky said.

“The inspiration comes from the collection, a lot of it came from the colour palette he used and his inspiration of volcanoes, so there’s a lot of volcanic swirls and colours. We want to make sure it’s fun so we want keep a lot of pops of colour, a bit of glitter, hair ties and stencilling, to really make it pop and enjoy that bit of colour in life,” he added.

Michael Lo Sordo

A 1970s French nightclub inspired aesthetic transformed the runway on night one of AAFW, with Richard Kavanagh’s hair look off-setting the fashion to ensure it was at its contemporary best.

“We wanted to create a look that highlights the luxury and sexiness of the garments with a very lo-fi French chic vibe, circa Kate Moss in the early 2000s, and creating hair that is effortlessly undone and slightly raw,” Richard said. “The idea is that by having the hair feel a little more lo-fi it earths the glamour and the luxury of the garments, because the Michael Lo Sordo girl is so sexy that keeping the hair a little more raw helps it feel cool.”

Cue

Renowned label Cue pinpointed glamour versus grunge and 90s nostalgia, complementing 90s silhouettes in the collection with three different styles created by Diane Gorgievski.

“The hair in the Cue show encapsulated the epitome of juxtaposition,” Diane said. “I wanted to create looks that showcased a version of the unpolished-polish or, as I like to say, undone-done. I was inspired by the 90s catwalk and the music era that shaped me as a stylist.”

“We had grunge versus glamour, where we had the beautiful blow dry and broke it up with tongs and products. Then we showcased a straight blow dry, bringing that 90s element to the runway, where there’s a middle part, dead straight and super shiny hair with fly aways. Then we have an array of super cool haircuts,” Diane said.

Essential Redken tools such as the brand’s Guts Root Lifter, Triple Dry Texture Finishing Spray, Forceful Super Strength Hairspray, Max Sculpt Gel, One United All-In-One Multi-Benefit Treatment, Thermal Spray Low Hold and Quick Blowout Lightweight Blow Dry Primer Spray were all pivotal in creating hold, strength, care, foundation and finish over a frenetic Fashion Week.

For more information visit www.redken.com.au