London Fashion Week is a chance for the industry's most revered hair stylists to showcase their talents, and this year proved no different.
Taking place on 17-21 September 2026, the week supports British fashion’s creativity, identity and innovation at home and abroad. Here, stylists share their experiences working backstage, revealing the inspiration, techniques and products behind some of the standout SS27 hair looks.
TONI&GUY x Ahluwalia
Global Creative Director Cos Sakkas, along with the TONI&GUY Session Team, created the hair looks at London Fashion Week for Ahluwalia's SS27 collection.
Titled “Revel,” the collection explores joy as a form of resistance - considering self-care, celebration and gathering as powerful acts of connection. Inspired by black history and heritage, Cos led the Session Team in creating a look that reflects a balance of strength and softness.
A tightly pulled, low ponytail created a strong, rebellious silhouette, while sculpted detailing introduces a softer, more refined element. The contrast between precision and elegance mirrors Ahluwalia’s celebration of resilience and self-expression.
Sebastian Professional x Simone Rocha
“For Simone Rocha SS27, the hair was about creating a cast of different characters, with a subtle nod to the 1950s running throughout," says Anthony Turner, using Sebastian Professional.
"Some of the looks explored French twists and sculptural shapes, giving a sense of elegance and structure that felt slightly reinterpreted and undone, while others featured youthful, bouncy ponytails that brought a lightness and energy to the collection."
Anthony says that he worked with each model's individual texture, haircut and personality, so although the looks were very different, they all felt connected. A gel was used to build body and create the foundation for the hair, with hairspray giving strength and definition to the more sculptural shapes. For the ponytails, hairspray gave flexible hold while allowing the hair to retain its movement and bounce, with oil worked through the lengths and ends for a healthy sheen.
"The overall feeling was polished but never overly perfect - considered, touched and human, with each look becoming its own character," he highlights.
Revlon Professional x Dreamling Eli
Revlon Professional UK and Ireland Artistic Director, Danilo Giangreco, worked with Dreaming Eli to present their four-stage hair story for SS27.
The collection, "Dreamers in Exile", followed the transition from childhood to the reality of adulthood, with Danilo translated the narrative into a constantly evolving series of looks - using texture, braiding and controlled dishevelment to chart the emotional journey of the collection.
Rather than creating four separate hairstyles, Danilo approached the show as one continuous hair story. “The starting point was this idea of childhood dreams and the idealised world we create around them. I wanted the hair to feel romantic and quite beautiful at the beginning, but then gradually lose that control as the characters move into adulthood," he said. "The texture becomes stronger, the braids become more undone and eventually the hair.”
The show opened with textured braided semi-up styles, establishing the youthful and romantic character of the collection, says Danilo. The hair was deliberately tactile, with braiding providing structure while maintaining a soft, imperfect finish. Rather than polished or overly precise, the styles retained movement and texture, giving the looks a nostalgic quality while hinting that the dreamlike world was beginning to unravel.
“This is where the hair really enters the underground world, we lose the neatness of the braid around the crown and start breaking everything up. It becomes much more instinctive, almost as though the hair has been disturbed rather than styled," continues Danilo.
“I didn't want the final hair to go back to being perfect, it must show everything that has happened. We bring back the romance and the braid, but it is looser, messier and more lived-in. It is almost like finding that childhood feeling again, but with everything you have experienced as an adult.”
Sid Da Barber x Justin Cassin
Lewis Gumbrell, aka Sid Da Barber, headed up the hair team for Justin Cassin’s SS27 London show, creating a series of looks celebrating modern masculinity and natural texture.
Lewis led the team, including JJ Savani and Gecko Trim, creating looks that moved between sleek, high-shine finishes and enhanced natural curls, coils and Afro textures.
For models with longer hair, the team swept hair away from the face, creating a glossy, controlled finish while retaining subtle movement. Rather than making every model conform to a single uniform look, shorter and Afro-textured hair was worked with individually, enhancing its natural shape, texture and character.
"Justin’s collection gave us the opportunity to explore different expressions of modern masculinity through the hair," said Lewis. "We wanted some of the looks to feel very sleek, polished and controlled, while with others it was about celebrating the model’s own curls, coils and natural texture.
“For me, great men’s hair isn’t about forcing everyone into the same look. It’s understanding the individual, their hair and their identity, and then elevating what’s naturally there. Backstage at Fashion Week gives us the freedom to push that idea creatively while still producing hair that feels relevant and wearable.”
Wahl Professional x Yuhan Wang
Wahl Professional Artistic Lead, Stacey Wright, and James Parr, European Artistic & Education Team Member, made their hair lead debut this season for Yuhan Wang’s SS27 show.
Using Wahl Professional, James and Stacey created the hair direction for Yuhan Wang’s "Sweet Nightmare" collection, exploring the unstable territory between waking and sleep.
Revlon x Lovebirds
For Lovebirds’ SS27 debut runway show at London Fashion Week, Danilo Giangreco created a series of polished yet effortless looks to complement the collection’s exploration of contemporary Indian identity.
Titled "India: IYKYK", the collection draws on the small cultural signifiers and visual references that are immediately recognisable to those familiar with everyday India, reinterpreting them through a contemporary fashion lens. It brought the brand’s Indian roots and signature sense of modernity to the runway.
Working with Revlon Professional, Danilo created a structured style to open the show, followed by a key look of voluminous loose, glamorous waves, creating a soft, luxurious finish that felt polished without appearing overly constructed.
Wahl Professional x Patrick McDowell
For Patrick McDowell’s SS27 collection, lead hairstylist Laura Chadwick channelled 1960s cinematic romance, with Jackie Kennedy as a key reference point.
Working with Wahl Professional, these influences were channelled into a series of considered, polished looks. Laura created a balance of simple low chignons, sculpted ’60s-inspired wigs and luxurious, glossy blow-dries. Across each look, the focus was on understated glamour, beautiful finishes, precise silhouettes and hair that felt elevated without appearing overworked.
KEVIN.MURPHY x ERDEM
At ERDEM SS27, Stylist Eugene Souleiman created two contrasting looks exploring gender and transformation. “I love this show because there are two very different looks,” says Eugene.
The first combined a deep side parting with styling cream before being disrupted for a lived-in finish, while the second used a texturising mist and flexible hairspray for soft texture over a sharp centre parting, finishing with a low braid expanded using styling powder. “There’s this very soft, romantic haze that sits over the top of a very sharp look,” he says.
KEVIN.MURPHY Master Caroline Kells adapted the products to each model’s natural texture, using texturising spray for grip alongside styling cream, texture paste and styling powder for control and movement. Hair clay “is small but mighty,” she says. “You can use it sparingly when you want subtle texture, or be more generous when you want much bigger hair.”
KEVIN.MURPHY x KNWLS
At KNWLS SS27, Eugene created hair that was sleek and effortless from the front, revealing a contrasting hairpiece at the back, deliberately styled to appear as though it had slipped. “The main inspiration was kind of coming undone,” say Charlotte Knowles and Alexandre Arsenault, founders of KNWLS. “We wanted that slightly French, effortless feel.” A smoothing cream and flexible hairspray created the polished front, while texturising mist and styling powder brought airy, raw texture to the loose ends.
The KNWLS look deliberately shifted from sleek and shiny to satin, matte and raw. “I love that journey of texture - the textures aren’t separate; everything blends,” says Eugene. “I love that it feels like a really cool accident...It's basically accessorising hair with hair.”
Bumble and Bumble x Fashion East
Led by Lachlan Mackie with Bumble and Bumble, Fashion East, a non-profit designer support and showcasing scheme, focused on hair that felt expensive, clean and individual for its SS27 collection.
Within this scheme was fashion brand GOYAGOMA, who focused on healthy-looking, frizz-free hair. Lachlan refined this with a lightweight styling cream, keeping the finish natural. Mé Mé channelled an office worker who had gone out for drinks and never stopped, with glamorous, slightly undone volume created using texturising and thickening sprays. Ponytails and twists added variation across the cast.
For Jacek Gleba, the inspiration was hair after a holiday: natural, textured and windswept. Thickening and texturising sprays built body and grip, with hair scrunched rather than curled to preserve irregular movement. Shorter hair was directed forwards, with flexible hairspray providing soft hold.
The result across the show was polished but individual, with texture and movement tailored to each character. For Jacek’s look, build lift at the crown with a thickening spray and hairdryer, add texturising spray through the lengths and scrunch, then finish with hairspray for an intentionally imperfect, windswept finish.
Sally Beauty x UNITE Haircare x Fashion Scout
Sally Beauty partnered with UNITE Haircare to create the hair looks for agency Fashion Scout across the weekend, through two key collections. The first was fashion brand Barrus, with hair led by session stylist Narad Kutowaroo, Creative Director of UNITE Hair “For Barrus, the hair look takes its original inspiration from Zendaya in The Odyssey, translating the film’s braided aesthetic into something more romantic and lived-in," said Narad.
"The look was then reimagined through the lens of Wuthering Heights, bringing an English-rose, countryside sensibility to the hair". She explains that a softly undone, textured braid created a whimsical, windswept finish, with dry texture spray used to enhance the natural movement and give the style its beautifully imperfect, lived-in quality.
To recreate this look, prep with a texturising spray, adding waves with a small curling tong if needed. Divide the hair into sections, twisting and looping each section underneath itself, alternating directions to create a criss-cross effect. Gently pull apart the twists for a dishevelled finish, leaving loose strands, then braid the ends and secure. Curl loose pieces and finish with hairspray for soft, lived-in texture.
Narad also led hair for Haus of McLees, taking a playful, contemporary approach to mermaid-inspired beauty and "summery Y2K energy with the carefree spirit of Coachella".
Narad created highlighted braids woven through the hair, creating flashes of colour and texture, while a subtle slightly wet-look finish added a fresh, quality without feeling overly slick. "The result is a festival-inspired style that channels mermaid glamour through a distinctly modern, effortless lens," she explains.
The look can be achieved using a straightener, alternating directions for irregular texture. Add styling cream to sections before creating small, sporadic braids, leaving the ends loose and gently backcombing them. Secure with hairspray, then mist throughout with a texturising spray to enhance the waves and finish.
