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• 2009 Hair fashion trends - Why hair is hitting new heights

  
  07 April 2009
  
  

  Singer Lady Gaga (left) and a model at YSL showcase this season's sculpted updos Photo: Getty Images

  'The straight line belongs to man. The curved line belongs to God,” Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí once said. This rubric could well be applied to the new season’s architectonic hairstyles. On the spring/summer 2009 catwalks, hairdos were the thing, and the dos were big. Think bulbous, curvilinear, coiffed.

  At American designer Phillip Lim’s show for his label 3.1, fulsome rotundas akin to the Future Systems Press Pavilion at Lords perched at 45 degree angles atop models’ heads; while at Prada and YSL, arciform domes surged back from hairlines, painstakingly moulded to be as smooth and undulating as Nicholas Grimshaw’s Eden Project bubbles.

  The haute conceptualism of these looks hasn’t always translated well into the realm of celebrity. Singer Lady Gaga tried it with a bow hairdo (the hair was twisted into a bow that sat on the head like a ribboned accessory) at a launch party recently. Her inspiration was the looped ponytails, fanned out and worn on the side of the head, at Gianfranco Ferré’s spring/summer show.

  Mad Men’s Joan Holloway’s voluptuous, bouffant cloud of an updo is a striking example of this season’s sculpted hair.

  “Generally, people are being more daring with their hair now as there is a simplicity to clothes this season,” says session stylist and salon supremo Adam Reed. He views hair as an additional accessory. Colour and form can, he says, redefine an outfit.

  “I love it when people make a statement with their hair. It chimes with the fact that there’s a return to a slightly more groomed look.”

  On a more practical level, replicating these sculptural styles can seem daunting and complex. Perhaps the best place to begin is in a salon, either to have the style executed by an expert or to take a lesson in constructing it yourself.

  “We’ve been doing catwalk classes to show people how to do beehives and buns,” says

  Reed, referring to his mondaine central London salon, Percy and Reed. “The best thing to do is to go into your local salon and get someone to show you how to do it.”

  The asymmetric bun, perfected by Phillip Lim, is particularly in demand this season. “We’ve been doing loads of this. It’s really easy to do at home and so stylish,” he says. “You pull your hair into a ponytail on the side and wind it round or braid it.”

  To prep hair for a bun or a beehive, blow dry it upside down and use a paddle brush to stop it becoming fluffy. Apply product after washing and conditioning. “Getting the texture right is essential,” continues Reed. “You need to give the hair a fibrous feel. Try Liquid Fabric by Shu Uemura’s Art of Hair (£19.50; 0800 633 5021), which gives you texture without the dirty feel. It also makes the hair more pliable.”

  A chic beehive is then created by backbrushing the crown – Reed recommends Mason Pearson’s child’s hairbrushes (£29; ). Next, cross the hair at the back into a French pleat using Boots’ “Blend Right” grips in matt, which don’t slip from the hair.

  “Finish it all off with a really good hairspray to hold it,” recommends Reed. Elnett is always a good choice.

  In fact, once you’ve learned to execute the new sculptural dos, Reed reckons there’s no reason not to have a different hairstyle each and every day.

   

  (Telegraph fashion news)