P O W E R O F T H E E AND THE CROWN… AND THE FAUX FRINGE… SESSION LEGEND GUIDO PALAU LIFTS THE LID ON HIS DOLCE & GABBANA TRINKET BOX TO DISCUSS HAIR EMBELLISHMENTS F L O W T H E R … S/<strong>S18</strong> S/<strong>S18</strong> Secret Show A/W17 A/W16 38 RUNWAY Spring/Summer 2018
RUNWAY GUIDO “ You have to look at the model’s face when you’re using flowers and accessories, you have to train your eye so you can play with height and width, just like with an up-do Guido Palau Redken global creative director “ Guido working at Dolce & Gabbana S/<strong>S18</strong> Images courtesy of Redken “IT FEELS LIKE I’ve never not worked with them!” laughs Guido Palau, arguably the busiest Fashion Week session lead and Redken global creative director, when asked how long his collaboration with Dolce & Gabbana has lasted. It’s early on a Tuesday morning in New York, and Guido is about to leave for his studio when <strong>Runway</strong> catches him on the phone. “It’s been about 10 years, a long time. There are eight shows a year that I’m working on, it’s a constant kind of relationship I have with them.” And it’s a relationship that, for a hair stylist, is a particularly playful one. Looking at the Dolce & Gabbana catwalk in the past decade and you can’t help but smile at the colourful, joyful clothes and the prevalence of hair embellishments; be they sweet and subtle ribbons or full-on regal crowns. It’s an element to the shows that makes them stand out. “The appeal is that there’s this subtle sexuality going on, and I think that comes from their Sicilian roots, growing up in a rural environment,” muses Guido. “A lot of their references are a country girl that’s not overtly sexy, she’s twisted up her hair and placed a fresh flower in there. They’re influenced by religious iconography – all very Italian and feminine.” And that’s reflected in the hair on the catwalk – it’s restrained, not too sexy but there’s a femininity that’s attractive to women. And with the embellishments – such as the fresh flowers, jewelled pieces or even something they’ve made particularly for that season – it adds to the colour and the celebration of that woman. And for the fashion fan, it feels like you could do the hair yourself; it doesn’t look too difficult, and Guido is convinced that’s part of the appeal. “With the help of a hair accessory, you can change a look in an easy way. I’m surprised that more women don’t put fresh flowers or leaves in their hair, because it really does have an impact,” he says. “Even if it’s just one single flower with a messy knot, it’s such an easy way to update or change your look.” An important element is keeping it all soft – structure is minimalised. “With Dolce, if I’ve done a centre-parting it’s a soft one that I’ve created with my fingers, pulled over the ears,” he explains. “Everything is always soft around the ears, the temple and the neck, there’s a nonchalance to it.” Of course, it’s breath-taking when those models are walking, but accessories present some real challenges to Guido and his team backstage. “Sometimes when we’re doing the couture shows, it can be very hot and the flowers are wilting, so we have to change out the flowers just before the models hit the runway,” he says. “Often gripping flowers into the hair can be tricky, because the designers don’t like too much product in the hair. So underneath we might put a little scalp braid so that there’s something to bobby pin it in to. And sometimes accessories can be heavy, so attaching it to some kind of braid beneath the shape is important.” When creating different personalities with the flowers, it’s just like an up-do in Guido’s mind – it’s all about proportion and weight, and to make sure it “doesn’t look too twee”. “Sometimes there are flowers AND hair accessories so it’s almost overloaded, and I just get buckets of flowers and just go at it like I’m a florist,” he chuckles. But he is adamant too that you need to train your eye in a more technical way. “You have to look at the model’s face when you’re using flowers and accessories, you have to train your eye so you can play with height and width, just like with an up-do,” he says. “Not everyone gets it right, and I often have to take flowers out and rearrange it when people don’t quite see it.” And there is the danger with accessories that it can go wrong and look like “bad wedding hair”, he admits. It needs an ease to it. “It’s important to keep the hair feeling soft and not looking too lacquered; let your accessory be the star, the hair is the back-up, the base,” he advises. “It’s important, those little details. With the Dolce woman, it feels and looks as though hands have been there, it’s not smartened with a brush, then hairspray and then flowers. I think you would lose the femininity. Having those accessories oversized makes it more whimsical.” But when it comes to Guido’s favourite accessory at Dolce & Gabbana, his choice is rather less sparkly or traditionally pretty. “A couple of seasons ago we did these fake fringes, it was really fun. Fake bangs in different colours, flowers on top… it was almost this cartoony-princess idea but still feminine in a modern way. It was another challenge to your eye about beauty,” he says. “It’s funny, we often use carnations and back in England they’re thought of as a rather naff kind of flower! But they’re very traditional and can look very beautiful.” Spring/Summer 2018 RUNWAY 39
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