Elegantly Tough

Amongst an array of luxurious textures and fabrics (think sequins, leathers and silks) showcased at the Ellery Haute Couture show, Eugene Souleiman created an elegantly tough look, which was refined, sharp and stylized using Wella and ghd. It perfectly complimented Ellery’s designs, which Eugene describes as displaying a,

Really strong attitude. There are elements of masculinity and Victoriana and there’s a very cool, real, natural texture involved as well. We’ve been inspired by the clothes to create this look and it’s very beautiful.

Eugene explains,

At the front there’s this very masculine, Victorian feeling to the hair and then it just becomes more natural. At first glance, hair is contained on top of the head and then it becomes really loose. There’s a really beautiful play on the blending of textures, it’s really lovely. This look is about minimalism; it’s about how you can say so much by taking things away and just keeping that purity. It’s about the emotion that you put into the hairstyle, the attitude you have when you’re styling it – it’s very sharp, defined, it’s opinionated but in a very quiet way and that’s what I love about it. It’s very subtle but very strong to look at – it’s pure and it’s beautiful.

The Key Technique:

Eugene explains,

In order to create a natural texture to the hair, we’re using the ghd Air Hairdryer (£99) and a little EIMI Sugar Lift; this ensures lightness and removes any oil from the hair, which is key.

For the second step we’re using a lot of EIMI Dynamic Fix. We take a panel of hair from the centre of the head, allowing the edges of the panel to fall down and create a side parting. Working with the remainder of the hair (this should be the underneath section) we take sections and spray the roots with EIMI Dynamic Fix. There’s a trick to this application though – we’re not just spraying the roots, we’re spraying them at an angle in a way that distributes the product but doesn’t create a line.

We’re looking for a seamless flow of texture, a very clean, sharp and shiny texture that resembles something like a satin to compliment the fabrics used in the show. It’s all about the weightlessness and softness of a fabric as it falls down. We’re using that feeling and interpreting it in a hairstyle.

Next Eugene uses a small amount of EIMI Sculpt Force, which is applied at the roots using a paintbrush to reinforce the appearance of a satin finish. Hair is then diffused with the ghd Air Hairdryer to quash flyaways.

Eugene then brings various sections of hair over the top of the head and uses EIMI Dynamic Fix at the roots, as before. The majority of sectioned hair is then brushed across the head and tucked behind the ears so that the textures blend. The remaining strands are pulled back so that they look taut, referencing Victorian masculinity.