Glamorous by nature at the first fuente conference
Thai-style lady-boys met Snow White and fetish chic came face-to-face with an avant-garde bride at the first ever Fuente international conference in Amsterdam.
With more than 400 hairdressers and distributors from England, Germany, Italy, Russia and Holland in attendance, the conference aimed to reinforce the company's Glamorous by Nature tagline.
It was a concept that was delivered through a tantalizing combination of catwalk-inspired editorial looks and boundary-pushing avant garde hairstyles all created with ammonia-free colours and styling products.
"Fuente is nature, but we want to make it more modern, glamorous and fashion forward," guests were told by Fuente ambassador Mark van Westerop of Pro-Solo in Holland.
The event began with a look and learn seminar where catwalk styles were reinvented by creative director Peter van Dooren, a veteran of the Paris, London and Amsterdam fashion weeks.
His fashion-able collection consists of seven updos, including an avant garde bridal look, which could be dramatised for a shoot or diluted down for clients wanting to stand out from the crowd this party season.
Hairstyles varied from the Swedish Punk, an over-sized blonde quiff to Pure Bella, which incorporated tribal influences and the the season's must-have fishtail plaits.
"You cannot have a fashionable look without fashionable hair and these looks are all fashionable, wearable and comfortable," explained Peter. "It is all about minimum effort with maximum impact."
The drama was saved for the presentation show which opened with a gender-bending display from male models styled in the season's fetish chic trend complemented by pixie-esque crops with hidden fringe panels.
These short, but very feminine looks were then recreated on female models with a focus on the hidden detail of disconnected undercuts abd peekabo panels.
There were tributes to the 60s, in the shape of re-worked beehives, and tumbling curls on a an autumnal palette in the Beautiful Fall presentation before the show-stealing segment: Snow White.
Featuring a quartet of blondes, three girls and a guy, whose on-trend crops were coloured in tones from pearly and iridescent to a warm and creamy; Snow White was elegant simplicity at its finest.
Then it was back to the dark and mysterious for the final presentation, Magic Noir, which was described as Zorro meets the Three Musketeers. Featuring long chocolate brown soft curls or waves it really was the perfect ying to Snow White's yang and a fitting end to the show.
