#ghdFashionWeek: Thom Browne at PFW SS19

This nautical theme dutifully honours the ocean, working with modern day materials and innovative patterns that firmly anchor the collection to dry land.

For Eugene Souleiman, working with Thom is always exciting: “Thom is a free spirit. His wardrobe is always incredibly imaginative which is the ideal for a hairdresser. He doesn’t take anything too seriously, meaning you get a level of wit and an added ‘sense of humour’ to the collection. Everything we do is about creating a moment – trying to do things you’ve not seen before…”

Eugene Souleiman, ghd Fashion Week ambassador

Drawn from the middle ages, Eugene’s inspiration was somewhat medieval, styled around the look of a washed-up maiden as opposed to an underwater creature. Crushed, squashed and sculpted, this look is a first for the fashion world: “This is a strong, definitive look which has never been seen before” says Souleiman, once again visibly excited by the uniqueness of the creations inspired by Thom Browne’s collection.

Get the Look:

To create the look, ghd Fashion Week Ambassador, Eugene Souleiman set about creating hair that “does not behave as hair”. Seeking the texture of chain mail, the first step is to add a thick layer of Wella Professionals’ aptly named Ocean Spritz.

The hair is then sectioned off – leaving a section for the top, the ponytail and a further section for the tight ponytail. The first section is pulled back into an extremely tight ponytail and the hair on the top of the head is backcombed and then crushed. The ‘crushing’ is achieved through an intriguing technique where Eugene applies “a spritz of Wella Professionals EIMI Sugar Lift” and then covers the top of the head with a net, blow drying over it with a ghd air® hair dyer to dry and hold the product in place, resulting in that desired crushed feel.

For the saber-like ponytail, Sugar Lift is run throughout the hair and blast with the ghd air® hair dyer – the aim is a solid, jutting ponytail which sticks, jarringly out from the hair, evoking the feel of a spear or a sword. This, understandably relies on a whole lot of hairspray. The end result is an abstract, unsettling up-do that works to fix the eye on the exquisite costumes whilst hinting at something dark and medieval. Tellingly, Eugene mentioned that “you can get away with murder as a hairdresser” at this show and whilst you can’t quite place your finger on it – the look does hint at something eerie and other-worldly, albeit beautiful. 

GALLERY: