HJ met Anna Cofone, Authentic Beauty Concept's Global Advocate, at her studio in Hackney to explore her treasure trove of archives from her red carpet and runway work; and to chat all things session styling, working collaboratively and nailing a brief…
What is the creative process as hair lead at London Fashion Week?
Working with any two designers is never going to be the same. Some designers will present their ideas weeks before, will send you over a deck of looks and a mood board of hair references and will provide you with enough time to do two hair tests – one at the studio with the designer, and one closer to the date of the show with the makeup artists. However, there have been other instances where I’ve not seen any of the designs until the day of the test, which might be 48 hours before the show. While these are contrasting approaches, both can lead to something exciting – you’ve got to be ready to deal with different variables and be a problem solver.
Is it more challenging to work with a designer that has a clear vision or one who lets you do whatever you want?
Both of these have got their cons. In the first instance there’s not much flexibility, but with the latter too much freedom can lead to a lack of storytelling in the finished look. Having studied Performing Arts, I always like to ask questions about the character the designer is trying to present: who is the woman walking your show, where has she come from, what has she done? When a designer tells me I have creative freedom, I still ask questions – probably more questions than I would otherwise.
You started your career working in a salon - is there much overlap between salon work and session work?
I don’t think you have to manage expectations quite so much with session work because you can always do more, you can use a wig for example, and work around problems in more creative ways.
How important is it to use the right products as a session stylist?
What I need a product to do for a couple of minutes to last in a photo is really different to how I need it to perform and last for three hours in the lead up to a fashion show, or how I need it to withstand movement in a music video. When thinking about working with brands, something that was always important to me was the performance of the products and how far they can be pushed; these products work great on their own, but I also like cocktailing the products to make them work harder.
What are your three fashion week essentials?
Glow Spray Serum, Nymph Salt Spray and Nude Powder Spray… and Working Hair Spray. When it comes to cocktailing combinations though, I love using Glow Spray Serum as a primer, before adding Nymph Salt Spray and amplify Mousse through the mid lengths and ends to create some structure and hold.
What’s your favourite fashion week hair look that you’ve created?
I think this look for David Koma. What I really loved about this show was that the designer was inspired by the dancer Pina Bausch, so before the test I pulled together a mood board of ballet dancers. Initially thinking about a ballet dancer my mind went to a small bun, but I thought that was a bit boring, so started to look closer at the texture of the clothes and the shapes she could move her body into. The look started off with a slicked-back shape, and then we pulled half of the hair into the bun, leaving the rest of the hair in tendrils, to create the illusion that the hair had been pulled back for days and was slowly beginning to deconstruct.
