On Valentine’s Day it’s tempting to see everything in romantic terms—witness the profusion of flowers, cards, and innuendos on Instagram—but backstage at Prabal Gurung this evening, the emphasis was squarely on capital-R Romanticism. At the center of the designer’s inspiration board, amid photocopies of paintings by Goya and Rousseau, was Lord Byron’s 1814 poem, “She Walks in Beauty.” The notion of such a muse wandering the wood was a through line for the entire presentation, from the clothes (accented with feather motifs and fur) to the makeup (luminous, ruddy cheeks by Diane Kendal), but the element that seemed most ethereal were the ultrafeminine ponytails by Anthony Turner.
“The idea is that the hair was once very perfect, but she’s gotten lost in the forest,” the stylist explained of the “very weathered, very disheveled” twist on a rolled-edge ponytail. To recreate the effect of the elements, Turner layered in two products by John Masters Organics—the Volumizing Foam (launching in March) and the Sea Mist Salt Spray—finger-raking the hair back and loosely blowing it dry. “I’m not using any kind of brushes or combs because I want it to feel lived-in and rough around the edges,” he stressed. Then, starting at each ear, he twisted the sides of the hair inward and secured them at the nape with an elastic.
The poetic finishing touch would come later. “I’m going to fuzz it up with my fingers right before they go out,” he said, reaching out to muss a nearby model’s too-perfect hair—which, come to think of it, seemed well-suited to any number of Valentine’s Day extracurricular activities. Here’s to a new kind of bedhead for tonight and beyond.
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