You are at home; you’ve got your hair pulled back into a simple ponytail, and a clay mask rubbed onto your face.  You’re wearing your “chill at home outfit”, slippers needing replacing, sweat pants, and a baggy t-shirt, and thinking to yourself, I’m going to thumb through Vogue magazine, and see what is on the fashion front, not that I can relate to any of it, until you set your eyes on a designer rich caramel color, cashmere coat, with a luxurious shawl collar.  Oh, I love that.  It’s probably a trillion dollars though.

As you look through the magazine you exclaim now and again “who would ever wear that?” Or, “What were they thinking?”  Magazines are filled with images that seem unrelated to you and I, but still we are compelled to look at them.  We want to know what the designers are doing.  We want to be wowed by what the designers are creating, even if you are not into fashion, or “in fashion”.  What the designers create influence how and what we choose to wear.  Whether we are conscious of it or not, a movie like “The Devil Wears Prada”, can explain to us how shades of blue trickles down from the designer racks to the discount rack.

 “If you see something in the mainstream of society, its most likely out of fashion,” said Giovanni Giuntoli, a NYC editorial hairstylist, and Redkin’s bridal expert.  “Once the designers create, and launch a trend, larger companies tend to use it for their own inspiration in putting out their next trend.  Larger companies then create a buzz for shoppers, by this time, it’s out, or soon to be on its way out.  Most of us don’t have the means or desires to be that on top of the fashion pulse.  Because of this, hair styles, or otherwise, get tweaked to become more user friendly, wearable, and more mainstream.”

Runway is about extreme in all senses of the word, the ultimate in fantasy, fashion, beauty, and just because.  It’s about fabric, color, texture, and silhouette.  What comes our way via magazines and celebrities is very related to you and I, and it effects what we wear whether we are conscious of it or not. “Most hair trends begin with what the designers are using, color, texture, shape, length of skirt, collars, etc., when creating their collections.” Giuntoli said.  

Let’s now look at what is new in fashion this spring, and how they translate to hair.  We see floral print dresses, lots of color, silhouettes of the 40,s, 60’s and 80’s, but with a 2008 twist.  Cinched waistlines, belts, pencil skirts, and shrugs, all speak to a feminine, saucy, urban girl.  

•    Hair is worn off the face and roller set.  It’s then fingered loose, on bob-length hair.
•    Rapunzel-like locks.  Add extensions for different textures and length can be great fun.  Crimp pieces of the hair, or all of it.  Where some hair up, and some down, in low buns and ponytails.

•    Large accessories, and now barrettes are showing up in the hair.  Long bangs pulled to the side, clipped with a sparkling, retro, medium size hair clips.

•    Loosely teased hair, and the use of hairspray, then pinned up in a chignon, or a pinned-up faux bob, with a textured section left out on one side to create asymmetry.

Giuntoli, who trains other stylists for editorial work, said, “The latest "bob" with Victoria Beckham is great because she mostly wears open collars and dresses to look taller.  It gives her an edge and it gives her come height with opening the chest to the neckline to the hairline. She wears designers that allow that much skin to be seen and so the haircut looks right in sync with the total style.”

The looks suggested are all wearable and accessible for most people.  Interpreting what is shown on the runway and using it as inspiration is where the fun begins.  It’s all about balance, line designs, shapes, and silhouettes that compliment your essence. Implementing a few changes in clothing, and, or hair, based on what you see flipping through the pages, will bring freshness to your look.  With little to no effort you can easily tailor the style to fit your needs by talking to your hairstylist and seeing what works best.

After rinsing your mask, you slip into bed.  Wait a minute!  You sit up, grab the Vogue and with a pair of scissors and cut out the picture of the caramel color, cashmere coat.  You tape it to your mirror. Your new style begins to emerge.

Photography by Arpit Mehta

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