Diversity on Show at Paris Fashion Week

For Karoliina Saunders of Karoliina Saunders Hair Design the last month has mainly involved jumping on a plane and rushing between the fashion capitals of the world. Having conquered New York, London and Milan, she took her tool kit and finished up in Paris, working backstage for some of the biggest names in the fashion industry.

Once again she gives us an exclusive insight backstage!

Diversity on Show at Paris Fashion Week

Casting models from the internet has led to a greater diversity on the catwalks and in Paris, as a city known for embracing different cultures, this was most apparent.

My first show was for Marques Almeida where I was assisting seasoned session stylist, Gary Gill. Hair was left loose and unstructured with quite a natural feel. The collection was designed to focus on a major political issue: how Brexit may affect foreign workers.

The second show found me styling hair for the famous French design house of Courregesn, where we had to create very different hair on each model. There was a big influence from the 70s, but hair was left more grungy and textured rather than perfectly finished.

It was great fun to incorporate wigs into the show. Bright yellow and orange wigs were super cool and we also attached hair pieces to create a more obscure feel to the overall look.

Third up was the legendary Balenciaga with the catwalk situated in a glass tube featuring laser lights! I worked entirely on the men’s hair where the influences were once again the 1970s mixed in with a grungy finish.

Next I hot footed it over to Valentino where I assisted Guido Palau. Here the hair was beautifully simple. Middle partings prevailed, with the hair tucked behind the ears and a little movement carefully created with tongs.

With intricate make-up featuring little gems glued onto the lips and eye area, this look took time and, as usual, it was madness backstage getting everyone ready! It is because the models walk out onto the catwalk with such grace and poise, that no one in the audience knows how chaotic it can get behind the scenes.

My Paris trip finished on a high note with some great family time celebrating my son’s birthday with a trip to Disneyland.

It’s been a crazy month but what an experience!! It’s great to be back with my salon team starting our prep for Salon International. Catching up on lost sleep will just have to wait!