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Wales Bonner - Enhanced Natural Flare

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Wales Bonner’s AW19 Fashion Week show has been one of the most anticipated shows of the season, with a widespread resounding air of excitement about the designer’s first foray into womenswear.

Recognised by many as one of the most innovative and trail-blazing designers of her generation, her experimental design aesthetic has seen her draw inspiration from a variety of art and cultural motifs - perfectly encapsulated by the location for the show; the Serpentine Sackler Gallery, where Grace currently has an exhibition running. Her explorations of identity, spirituality and expression continually push the boundaries of fashion.

This electic combination of Harlem and preppy is what gave ghd fashion week ambassador, Eugene Souleiman the inspiration he needed to pay appropriate homage to Bonner’s disruptive collection. This was not a cohesive collection as far as the hair looks were concerned - each model’s hair was styled according to their natural texture, length and personal style which resulted in a collection that felt as much like a celebration of culture as it did diversity.

Get the look...

The key to each model’s look for this show was to keep hair natural. Products were only used to enhance the existing textures, not to sculpt or redefine them.

  1. For models with Afro hair, water was sprayed on for manageability. A net was then placed over the hair and held against the head, before drying with a ghd air hairdryer with diffuser attachment. Heat was concentrated on the netted area to help mould the hair into the desired shape. The contoured hard fingers of the diffuser head lifted and separated the hair as it dried to create soft volume, as well as giving a frizz-free finish to natural curls. Once the shape was achieved, hair was combed through with the fingers.
  2. For all other male models, the same products were used, although personalised to their hair length and style. Wella Professionals EIMI Perfect Me was applied to wet hair and combed through the lengths, followed by Wella Professionals EIMI Extreme Volume Mousse to give the hair extra grip. For curly hair, each individual curl was twisted around the stylist’s finger to give extra definition, before being spritzed with Wella Professionals EIMI Glam Mist to give luminosity and shine.
  3. The remaining female models without Afro hair were also treated to their own bespoke styling. While Perfect Me did come into play again, Wella Professionals Elements Conditioning Leave-In Spray was also used on wet hair to give it a softness and give any natural curls added weight, allowing them to hold their shape better; Wella Professionals EIMI Sugar Lift was then misted over the hair to seal the deal on the looks.

As well as the opportunity to work with a whole variety of hair textures and styles, what Eugene found so exciting about creating hair looks for Bonner’s AW19 show, was the fact that the hair itself carried so much symbolism. Whether it was the African feathers that were threaded through some of the styles, or the modern day Harlem-inspired buzz cuts, these hair looks, combined with Bonner’s breathtaking aesthetic, resulted in nothing less than pure catwalk magic.