Key hair trends for spring/summer 2013
Published
01st Oct 2012
by rachael
Get set for the new season with hair trends for Spring/Summer 2013. From intricate braids and retro updos to dual-textured tomboy looks, the new season offers styling and finishing options for every client.
Brush up on all of the new season trends - and hear how the session stylists behind the shows created the looks - with HJ's guide to hair for Spring/Summer 2013.
Play it straight
Straighteners at the ready - smooth and sleek are the watchwords for Spring/Summer 2013.
Not since the noughties has the poker-straight look been so in demand, with sleek, smooth, curtains of glossy hair swinging their way down countless catwalks this season.
With the nineties trend still going strong, it's perhaps no surprise that straight hair is back in a big way - but this isn't just about the era's Calvin Klein and Helmut Lang minimalist look.
Straight hair, ironed to perfection and coated with shine spray, complemented the clean lines at elegantly restrained shows including Celine, Giambattista Valli and Pucci, while glass-like glossy tresses formed the basis of graphic updos for clever conceptual collections from Antipodium and Fyodor Golan.
At Michael Van Der Ham the sleek locks were inspired by girls who brush their hair one hundred times before bed, while the trend also gives a nod to this season's other key look - the sixties. Think Cher or Ali McGraw in Love Story, with their blankets of thick, high quality hair and you've got it.
While previous seasons have seen straight hair with bounce and volume, this Summer there's no reason to be afraid of the flat, long and sleek styles of the early half of the decade. After years of waves, curls and natural texture, it's time to experiment with something more polished.
From Orientalism to sports luxe, smooth hair is the perfect blank canvas for a host of trends. Who says straightforward is boring?
As seen at...
- Antipodium
- Fyodor Golan
- Michael Van Der Ham
- Pam Hogg
- Felder Felder
- Thomas Tait
- Markus Lupfer
- Lucas Nascimento
- Adam Andrascik
- Bernard Chandran
- Acne
- Daks
Back to plaits
A perennial Spring/Summer favourite, this season braids get artisan with intricate sections and clever layering.
We see braids on the catwalk most seasons, so just how do you keep them fresh? Placement and personalisation.
For Spring/Summer 2013, plaits take on all sorts of shapes and forms - from dancehall-inspired cornrows finished in kiss-curls to equestrian styles, braided down the scalp like a mane and exaggerated way down the spine, the key to keeping the look fresh is imagination and research.
At Jean-Pierre Braganza, the TONI&GUY team replicated the look of vertebrae with layered plaits, pulled apart to reveal inner structure. At Fred Butler, Bumble and bumble were inspired by bees and honeycomb formations for indicate four-strand looks. And at Todd Lynn it was a combination of films that inspired the dip-dyed braids - from Out of Africa to Apocalypse Now.
Plaiting and braiding provide the perfect opportunity to let your imagination take charge; there's no hard and fast rules this season so brush up on your techniques and experiment with one trend that's all about hairdressing creativity.
As seen at...
Double vision
Straight or grungy? Wet-look or matte? Get the best of both worlds with this season's dual texture trend.
Contrast was a key mess
age on the catwalks, with 3D sequin and snakeskin finishes at Holly Fulton, sneakers and silk dresses at Moschino Cheap & Chic and that winning combination of fur and leather at Saint Laurent and Miu Miu. Take this happy pairing of sleek and strict and wild and textured and you've got one of this season's biggest trends - panels of wet-look gloss contrasted starkly against dry, matte texture.
At Victoria Beckham, Corrie Nielsen and Jasper Garvida it was was all about wet-down roots, heavy with lacquer and gel for a direct contrast against dry and dusty lengths. Using contrast for a more graphic statement, Mary Katrantzou, Marios Schwab and Eduon Choi all used strips of contrasting texture to draw attention to focal points in the style; a painted-on line of wet-look gel as a trim, a slick panel of shine adding a graphic edge to a classically glamorous undo, or a thin panel of braid adding textural edge a poker straight style.
Unexpected placement is the key for this trend - after all, who doesn't like to be surprised?
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Tough love
Last season's gothic look inspired a new breed of filthy gorgeous looks - who says you can't wear black in summer?
Last year's gothic trend has left a lingering darkness - the goth has grown up, but she's still got sulking. More about an attitude than a specific look or style, think stuck-to-the-scalp wet look with contrasting dry lengths, hacked-into mini fringes worn high above the brows, Kurt-and-Courtney crunchy texture and faux undercuts formed by slicked down panels either side of the head.
Bad romance continues on the catwalk too, with decidedly un-summery black leather and lace at Balmain, Saint Laurent and Roberto Cavalli and tough-girl buckle-bedecked accessories at 3.1 Phillip Lim, Alexander Wang and DSquared2.
It's no surprise that the back-to-black bad girl palette translates to hair too, with velvety dark shades providing the perfect canvas for edgy cuts and styling. Bleached-out blonde makes an impact too, while the dip-dye that refuses to die adds the perfect DIY finish to the trend.
However unless you're dealing with the very young or the very beautiful, the key to making the bad girl look work is keeping it sexy and ever-so-slightly chic for a wearable take on the trend. While graphic shorn sections and punky scraped-back updos might work on the catwalk, taking elements of edginess are what's needed in the real world.
Think matte texture, no-nonsense styling and textured cuts - then stop thinking and just do it for a nonchalant finish.
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Blow out
The Sassoon legacy lives on with a swinging sixties influence dominating the season.
With all eyes on London in 2012, it was the city's swinging sixties scene that served as inspiration for a wealth of designers this season. Louis Vuitton, Moschino and Marc Jacobs were amongst the key designers who showed collections heavy on A-line mini dresses, patent Mary-Janes and monochrome prints, while paisley, flower power prints and paillettes set the scene at PPQ, Versus and Peter Pilotto. Where fashion goes hair follows, and as the industry said a sad farewell to Vidal Sassoon there was more than a hint of his influence evident backstage.
Structured shapes influenced by the master of modern cutting complemented the season's graphic and geometric looks, while bouffants, beehives and intricately piled updos referencing his early works and influences also made an impact. Matched with bold brows, graphic eyeliner and fluttering Twiggy lashes, the look is all about taking a trip back to the era when London was the centre of style.
And the sixties trend isn't one-size-fits-all; from Dusty Springfield-esque matte-finish beehives and Jackie O sets to voluminous high ponytails inspired by San Tropez sirens, the trend is as open to interpretation as the liberal era's attitudes. And with faux bobs formed with elegant rolls and tomboyish textured ponytails providing a no-fuss interpretation of sixties chic, there's a retro-ready look for every client.
As seen at...
