Before and through Australian Fashion Week, O&M was on hand backstage to style the runway and set the trends. With a myriad of inspiring hair directors from some of Australia’s most prolific salon, and hair teams in the dozens working frenetically backstage, the brand created a multitude of salon-ready, fashion savvy and creative looks – read on for some of our favourites.
High Glamour Waves
“We’re doing something that’s quite high shine and polished,” said hair director Mary Alamine, who leads the much-loved Royals Hair, for ASIYAM. “Some girls will have a middle part, some will have a side part, but it’s really sleek and tucked behind the ears with a glam wave. It’s a resort collection so we wanted to do something that had a little bit of glam but was still sophisticated and polished.”
O&M’s Atonic Spritz to prep the hair texture and Original Queenie for the polished finish were the hero tools.
Twist Roll
The team created a unique twist roll on the side of the head, in a 40s and 50s era style that complemented vintage and romantic fashion looks at Alix Higgins. The look fused a dishevelled element in a strong, sleek overall style.
“We were inspired by the 40s and 50s vintage glamour, and that was translated through the hair,” said hair director Daniel Jianing Liu, founder of USFIN ATELIER. “There are grungy pieces of hair that have been moulded with a bend, it’s an evolution of the hair from last year’s runway show.”
“The hero product for today’s show is the O&M Atonic Thickening Spritz, we sprayed a lot of Atonic so the hair looks wet, thick and holds the silhouette of the shape of the head.”
Soft and Textural
“The inspiration behind the collection was from the ancient craft of metalwork and the evolution of the Bec + Bridge girl, so we offset that by creating soft hair looks, enhancing natural textures and keeping the hair smooth and anchored,” leading hair director John Pulitano of Headcase Hair said backstage at this hero show. “The collection is raw and sharp, which works so well with the naturally soft undone hair we have achieved. There is a synergy between the harder elements of the collection and the softness of the hair.”
“We just wanted to work with natural texture but at the same time, but we didn’t really want to make it too beautiful. We’re trying to keep a very streamlined finish, everything’s tucked behind the eras, it’s very straight.”
Atonic Thickening Spritz was the hero product for starchiness with a bit of hold for a clean hair vibe that was smooth and effortlessly undone, while the O&M Original Queenie Firm Hold Hair Spray was another key tool.
Luxe
Stepping into the Parisian club world of Michael Lo Sordo, enhanced bend and shine offered an expensive hair aesthetic for a feminine, romantic, sophisticated fashion label. Hair was made to look effortlessly sexy and undone with volume and a touch of drama.
“The hair draws attention to the clothes, complementing the Michael Lo Sordo aesthetic,” hair director Pauline McCabe, owner of Fremantle’s Rock Paper Scissors Hair, explained. “It’s very light, with some movement to it. We used the O&M Project Sukuroi to create a shine in the hair and O&M W-Spray to create light hold, which also created a tousled texture on the shorter hair girls and the male models, giving that 3am in Paris allure.”
Balletic
Two understated, textural and movement-based hair looks, courtesy of dynamic hair director Sheridan Rose Shaw of MAMAWEST, styled a pre-Fashion Week NAGNATA show, with headbands and scrunchies as hero accessories in the balletic collection.
“We drew inspiration from the ‘off-duty ballerina’ for the hair; we really channelled that by enhancing the natural texture of each models’ hair. It’s about celebrating that texture, working with their hair type rather than against it,” Sheridan shared. “It’s kind of like one of those moments where they’ve just been on the dance floor, and they’ve just semi ripped off their scrunchie, a semi half done moment.”
The models’ individual hair textures were aided by three key products – O&M Style Guru Styling Cream, Know Knott Detangler and Surf Bomb Sea Spray – to enhance a “sweat effect” with an emphasis on beautiful hairlines made to accentuate baby hairs in a way that looked both slightly distressed and natural.
Fluid and Effortless
“Every girl will have a different kind of look, but we are channelling a fluid, effortless, and raw hairstyle,” shared hair director John Pulitano for Blanca. “We wanted to complement the collection itself, which is very chic, sheer and soft. There’s a bit of embellishment to the garments, so we’ve gone for an ‘invisible pinned back look’ with the hair, keeping it simple and contour free. It’s very natural, with enhanced textures and rawness. The Blanca girl is chic, cool and understated and the hair really shows that.”
Speaking to an outdoor, resort, summer vibe, the hair look played with natural textures, organic fluff and quirky flyaways as a playful ode to what John described as the “summer, spontaneity and confidence” of the collection. Hero products included O&M Original Queenie Firm Hold Hairspray and Atonic Thickening Spritz in creating this texture and aesthetic.
Old Hollywood Elegance
“We drew inspiration from the essence of the collection, which was called La Dolce Vita, and what that would look like through hair. Think old Hollywood, textured glam and bouncy curls,” said hair director Grace Kelly of SHAG HAIR at the off schedule show for With Harper Lu. “We worked with the natural texture of each models’ hair, enhancing their curls and length. Models with straight hair were transformed to that old school Hollywood blowout, accessorised with scarves and hats.”
“We wanted that glam yet natural look, as if they’d been on a Euro Summer lunch. We used the O&M Original Queenie Firm Hold Hair Spray, Thique Volumising Powder, and Atonic Thickening Spritz to achieve these runway looks.”
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