I recently did some work for a hair salon, who are a bunch of really creative girls with a talent for the avant-garde and stylized look.
I asked them about where their inspiration came from for their more themed photo shoots and was surprised to find that as well as celebrity fashions, and trends shown in magazines and fashion shows, a lot of idea come from characters in films and TV shows.
So I probed a little further and asked them to tell me about their favourite characters and their hair.
I really like period dramas, which is a great source for “up-dos.” Traditionally women have always had long hair, but in a lot of period dramas the hair is styled up in a way that was true to the time with braids, knots, chignons, pincurls and things like that.
Peaky Blinders, Downton Abbey, Mr. Selfridge and Boardwalk Empire are all set in the early 20th Century. The “Gibson-Girl” hair style is one that has really come back in fashion in one way or another and you can see some variation of it in most of these shows.
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| NHF Inspire for Fudge Hair by Sarah Wilson and Laura Blount & team Photo by Jack Eames for ITV |
The Edwardian period in which the “Gibson-Girl” hair style was popularized was a time where fashion was embraced. King Edward VII was very unlike his mother Queen Victoria who shunned society, and preferred to travel and explore the culture and trends of the rest of Europe.
This reflected the change in times back in England, and wealthier people also took more of an interest in their clothing and hairstyles and started to wear less of the darker drab colors we know to be the popular choice of the Victorians.
You can learn how to do this to your hair HERE.
Laura
My favourite TV show at the moment is Game of Thrones. I love the regal looks that the princesses and queens have. They are obviously basing the hair designs on a lot of medieval styles also looks from across Europe and further East. I love how the fashion changes depending on what place the characters are from, this gives the show a lot of depth but it’s also interesting to see so many different hair styles all in one show.
Because it’s fantasy rather than being set in much of a real world, this gives them a bit more scope to make styles that are a bit more off the wall and exciting that might not be practical in real life.
A lot of the characters in Game of Thrones actually wear wigs. Of course the same amount of effort goes into styling them, but it just means that at the end of the day the actor can take it off and wear their own hair however they want it.
Ria
My favourite thing at the moment is silvery grey hair. It’s really popular in the fashion world and hasn’t always been the most easy colour to achieve unless you’re already grey naturally. More people have the ability to do it now and there are still so many different shades both warm and cool within the grey scale. For that reason, I think Storm from X-Men has to be my favourite character for hair at the moment. I liked Halle Berry’s longer hair when she played Storm, rather than her short hair. But that’s just my personal preference, I still think the colour looks great either way.
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| Internet-famous fashion icon Angexla; Halle Berry as Storm |
Silver hair is definitely in fashion at the moment, which is good news for older men and women who don’t want to dye their hair – the world finally understands that grey hair looks awesome! White or grey hair can be easily discoloured by sunlight, dirt, pollution, and just about anything else you can think of. So it’s a good idea to invest in a silvering shampoo.
They’re normally heavily pigmented with a purple that will make your hands look like that of a zombie, but they do a great job of getting rid of any yellowish brassiness that can appear in grey hair.
Amber
When I was little I always wanted to have hair like Ariel, The Little Mermaid. I love brightly coloured hair and love creating really vibrant shades for clients. Now that I’m a little older I don’t think I’d be brave enough to have hair that bold myself, but it looks great in photos of people dressed as Ariel. Bright colored glossy hair can really make a photo, and any colour that is something other than ‘natural’ can be really eye catching. With bright hair, I think it’s better to keep the style simple so the focus stays on the colour. Long wavy hair is perfect for showing off bright shades and shades with depth.
Bold hair colours can be difficult to maintain, specially if you have to pre-lighten your roots before every reapplication of colour. If this is something you want to do, it’s a good idea to consult a professional first, because you need to know how to keep your hair in good condition as well as the shade you want it – otherwise one day you could wake up with perfectly coloured hair all over your pillow and not on your head.
Bright colours will also stain EVERYTHING. So if you’re using a box dye at home, make sure you have covered all surfaces that might catch the occasional drip and maybe buy some black towels so you don’t ruin your other ones.
Claire
I always loved Superman’s hair in the old films. So slick and finished with one little loose curl. It always looked a bit too perfect, like no weather or amount of flying could ever touch it. But then, Superman was also a bit too perfect. I like trying to style men’s hair to a similar degree of perfection, but with a touch more rugged reality. A good way to achieve this, I think, is to have a very neat and precise cut that can be styled equally as precisely with a lot of product, or roughed up to look more natural. That way my client has more versatility for their every day wear and they can chose how much effort they put into their style and still look great either way.
Shorter hair styles typically take a lot less time to style, but they grow out fast and look completely different at every stage of growth. So there is still a lot of upkeep involved.
If you have short hair, it’s always a good idea to have it cut a tiny bit “too short” every time you go for a trim to help your style last a little longer. The wet look that Superman sports tends to look a lot better on short hair. On long hair it often makes the wearer look like Samara from The Ring.
Stacey
That ‘70s “prairie look” is really in this Summer, with lots of gypsy cut tops, long skirts and tassel trims. The best hairstyles for this look are bohemian, long and wavy. Flowered headbands and loose braids or fishtail plaits are a great addition to this kind of hairstyle too. If I were planning a shoot around this kind of theme, for hair inspiration I would probably look to the Elvish hairstyles from Lord of the Rings. They’re people that live closely with the earth, and that’s a very bohemian attitude. They all wear polished versions of the current bohemian hair trends with neat uniform waves rather than brushed out ones. They accessories similarly with headbands and little braid accents.
No one cares about hair more than Legolas. If he wasn’t an elf, he’d probably be a hair stylist. He would also tell you that braiding your own hair can be difficult at first but is really easy once you’ve grasped the basics.
Once you’ve had your perfect waves put in, head to YouTube for some great braiding tutorials.
Abby
We recently did an avant-garde shoot at the salon using mostly pastel tones. This was probably my favourite that we have done so far. The styles were all very interesting, although completely unrealistic. We used a lot of hair pieces to add extra height and volume and we could then sculpt the hair into unusual and exaggerated shapes. I love pastels at the moment, they have been on trend for a while and I’ll be sorry to see them go.
They remind me of the older My Little Pony cartoons that I used to watch when I was younger, I still have a lot of the My Little Pony toys and dolls from that era in my parent’s attic. I like the new cartoons too, but the styling just isn’t the as good!
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| Pastel Rainbow hair goals |
Pastel shades are beautiful but can once again be hard to maintain depending on the quality of the colour used. So be sure to do your research on hair dye before committing to anything, otherwise you may be disappointed at how long the colour lasts, or how well it actually takes to your hair because of it’s natural shade.
Pastels may also require pre-lightening and toning before you can even apply the colour, and where ever and hair bleaching is concerned it is a good idea to leave it in the hands of a professional unless you’re 100% sure you know what you’re doing.
Cutting and colouring your hair can seem like a drastic step for the benefit of a costume, and if you’re not ready for that or you want the ability to be more versatile with your hair, then wigs may be the way for you. Styling a wig is just as important as styling your own hair to completing the look you are trying to achieve.
A lot can be said for online styling tutorials and YouTube videos, but when it comes to doing something to your own hair that could possibly damage it in some way, it is always best to leave it to a professional. Don’t be afraid of asking your hairdresser to do something crazy either.
Not every stylist would be bold enough to shave off your long locks for the sake of a Lex Luthor costume (for fear of you hating it and blaming it on them!) but styling your hair into something more interesting than anything else on their average day at the salon is probably something they would find fun and exciting.
So if you’re not sure about doing it yourself, ask a hair stylist to take care of it for you!
