CHANGE IS IN THE HAIR
“Kendall is so cute as a blonde,” declared a dark brunette Gigi Hadid backstage at Balmain, where a host of the industry’s most social savvy models wore wigs that were a stark contrast to their natural hair colours. Hair maestro Sam McKnight created the look, using long Balmain-branded wigs. “Olivier wanted to create a surprise today,” said McKnight. Tom Pecheux’s natural make-up complemented the striking look, which also graced temporary brunettes Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Lindsey Wixson, as well as golden-haired goddess Alessandra Ambrosio. “It’s that Balmain cool girl ... with a twist,” explained McKnight. Elsewhere, other designers and stylists experimented with contrasts and variations, and showed that change was the game at Autumn/Winter ’16 backstages. At Givenchy, Guido Palau styled some models’ hair loose and straight, while others wore shorter hair “caps” by Josh Wood over their natural locks. At Isabel Marant, Palau also pursued something distinctive, but with three different looks that offset one another: ’80s curls, side-swept and slicked fringes, as well as wild up-dos. It became more extreme at Rick Owens, where hair by Duffy was in even starker contrast. Some models wore theirs lank, others with diaphanous styles, and 14 girls had their heads encased in spherical hair domes. “If you look at them, you notice they’re all different shapes: some oblong, some oval,” Duffy explained.