"I like Kimura because he’s passionate about creativity" Richard Kavanagh said. "His bikes don’t come alive until somebody rides them, and it’s the same with hairstyles; they don’t come alive until somebody wears them."
"You may be wondering why I showed you a film clip about Shinya Kimura" said hair creative genuis Richard Kavanagh in his media workshop of hot new trends for Rodney Wayne yesterday at Showroom 22, after we watched the video about the cutting-edge Japanese motorcycle designer. This isn’t about hair! We were thinking.
"I like Kimura because he’s passionate about creativity" Kavanagh said. "Kimura says his bikes don’t come alive until somebody rides them, and it’s the same with hairstyles; they don’t come alive until somebody wears them."
The new ad campaign for Rodney Wayne starring Richard Kavanagh’s tattoed arms shows models having their hair styled while on a plane, wearing eye masks and neck pillows – which they wittily gave media in our goody bags. "The idea was, while they’re asleep, I did their hair!" laughed Kavanagh.
But we’re not here today to sleep, or sadly, to have our hair done – we’re about to learn how to recreate the looks Kavanagh did with international hair maestro Guido Palau at the latest fashion weeks in Milan, Paris and New York.
Doing hair takes 3 easy steps, Kavanagh said.
Firstly, Prep. Put the product in the hair, make it pliable, so it will do what you want it to do.
Secondly, do the hair.
Thirdly, finish the style.
Media got to do something we never get to do: touch the models! Kavanagh invited us to feel the prepped ponytail and compare it to the unprepped one; a huge difference in softness.
He started by showing us the Marc Jacobs look; a sort of wet-look chignon. He begins with dry hair (that is so filled with mousse, it makes an audible sound when brushed!) and dampens hair using the product.
"The key is to gather all the hair up on one side, and start "mushing" (scrunching into a ball). Roll it under, and secure it with pins.
The hairstyle is finished with so much product it has a wet look "without actually being wet as Marc Jacobs won’t want his clothes getting wet!"
This baby is NOT going to move.
The Alexander Wang catwalk look was recreated on the model wearing blue, below. Mousse was applied and left to dry so it went crispy. "The crispy 80s!" declared Kavanagh. It had a grunge aesthetic giving a edge to the clothes which were bright in geometric, narrow shapes.
How do designers work in with hairstylists? Guido Palau looks at a designer’s clothes and then designs the hair for a show. This is in comparison to Marc Jacobs, who has a strong idea already of how he wants the hair to look and who the woman is, down to making the sixty models individual silk scarves for their hair.
Then Richard Kavanagh’s job is to translate the catwalk looks into something wearable the customer can feel emotional about, for Rodney Wayne salons. The key trends from the catwalk collections in Milan, New York, and Paris came down to three main things: the wet hair look, a 1940s vibe, and a homemade look to hair.
The centre part is still strong, but it is not too cleanly parted anymore. The popular teen trend of the loose bun worn on top of the head has moved to what he terms "Nana buns" at the nape of the neck.
Barettes and hair slides and hairclips are a major accessory.
The end result, with models wearing Alexandra Owen SS12.
By Megan Robinson 23 November 2011
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