ghd X Preen

Eugene Souleiman, Wella Professionals Global Creative Director and ghd Fashion Week Ambassador, takes inspiration from Victorian travelling pilgrims for Preen.

Women’s liberation was at the forefront of the SS18 Preen by Thornton Bregazzi collection. Key looks included models swathed in white gauze-like fabric finished with pilgrim style bonnets, giving a nod to literature such as The Scarlet Letter and The Handmaid’s Tale, and paved the way for a forcefully feminist collection.

This season the show was inspired by Victorian travelling pilgrims, with fabrics consisting of floating chiffons adorned with floral patterns. To contrast the feminine lightweight fabrics, Eugene Souleiman created a more heavy and raw hairstyle, giving the look an unkempt edge.

For the hair, I wanted it to look harder, as if they had arrived off a boat in a new land, hair unwashed for weeks and exposed to the elements. The bonnet lost or discarded, the hair having seen, sun, rain, snow... it's broken and unkempt, yet still with the imprint of the bonnet to bring some of the strictness that defined the era. - Eugene Souleiman

Create the look...

Firstly, hair was braided in an under section at the back, to provide a structure and hold for the adornments that were inserted into the hair.

Next, a side parting was created and EIMI Sugar Lift was sprayed liberally to set the parting, add texture and provide separation to the hair strands.

Working with the fingers creates a more natural and unkempt texture, it's a sculptural process. Play around with the hair sections to break up the shape and then randomly place longer pieces around the head. It should be fresh, modern, imperfect and each girl will be different. - Eugene Souleiman

In order to add balance to the look, hair was secured into a ponytail off centre at the back, the same side as the parting.

By taking random sections of the ponytail and using ghd Curve Soft Curl Tong (£120), shape and movement were added. The bottom half of the braid was then released to add further texture to the ponytail.

I love working like this, it is very visual and we are treating hair in a different way, almost as if working with another medium such as embroidery thread. - Eugene Souleiman

To finish the look EIMI Dry Me was liberally sprayed over the entire head. Hair looked as if a strong gust of wind had blown it back and was stuck to the forehead. This was created by holding EIMI Dynamic Fix at an angle so just a fine mist fell onto the surface of the hair, giving it a softer line. The spray was used in a more direct fashion further back on the head.

Once the hair was saturated it was dried through a net using ghd Air Hairdryer (£99), the net was pulled down tight over the head to recreate the shape of the bonnet that was once there.

The look was finished by anchoring any loose tendrils. Longer pieces were pulled back and secured in the ponytail. Hair was pulled over the ear to flatten and other tendrils were placed over the crown. The final step was to dry the hair through the net once again.

To complete the look, two feathers were inserted into the invisible braid at the back to hold them secure. Feathers were broken up a little to create an imperfect texture that was in keeping with the hair.