Sunday, February 15, had to be the coldest day of New York Fashion Week thus far, with numbing temperatures below zero. But the Deep Freeze didn't keep devotees of Modello GIULIETTA New York, which included influential J. Crew President and Chief Creative Director Jenna Lyons and actress Tessa Thompson, from taking their perches on the pristine white benches at RUNWAY POP 14. Just before fashion designer extraordinaire Sofia Sizzi sent her Fall 2015 collection for GIULIETTA down the runway, she took a moment to talk about the inspiration for her breathtakingly beautiful collection.
Referring to the groundbreaking neo-noir film directed by legendary filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci, Sofia told us, "This collection is inspired by the Bertolucci masterpiece 'The Conformist,' a 1970s take on the 1930s era. We were trying to capture the spirit and the glamour of the 1930s, but in a very modern way." As shown on the runway, you can see this fusion in the severe lines, sharp geometric patterns and airbrush chevron prints of "The Conformist" era rendered in slinky silhouettes channeling the '70s and '30s-inspired details such as bell-sleeves, peplum blouses and fluid trousers.
As for how this all-out glamour was interpreted for the direction of the hair looks created in collaboration with visionary hairstylist Diego Da Silva of Tim Howard Management, Sofia went on to say, "We were looking at pictures of the hair from the film." (Film buffs will remember the incandescent scene where the seductive Dominique Sanda dances a heated tango with Stefania Sandrelli-the demure wife of the film's conformist as played by Jean-Louis Trintingnant. The scene is memorable not only for the heat of the dance, but also for the undulating finger waves in their coifs-a hairstyling signature of the Art Deco era.)
In bringing the look up to the minute for GIULIETTA, Sofia said, "I've never been happier with the hair. Diego did such a beautiful job, with the wavy outline around the face, with a wet finish, so wet and precise to make it modern, and then dead straight in the back, an effect you can see when the girl turns on the runway." Sofia explained that this duality of the hair and of the Fall 2015 GIULIETTA collection plays on the concept of duality and ambiguity expressed in the film where the ultra-feminine meets androgyny.
To achieve this modern take on the clean, geometric shapes of the '30s, Diego worked exclusively with a trio of high-performing hairstyling products from René Furterer. "We don't have much time backstage and have to get straight to the point quickly," explained Diego. "It is a real luxury to use products that don't leave any residue, that are so light and are actually healthy for the hair. They are perfect for what we want today, a contrast of textures-extreme shine in the front and natural texture in back."
Here, we go behind the scenes with Diego as he leads his hairstyling team in pushing the allure of the '30s forward to give it a dramatic 21st century edge.
« First, I make a deep side part, and then I lightly spray the hair with water. Starting on the right side of the part, with the length of the hair in back twisted and clipped to get it out of the way, I smooth down the hair around the face with René Furterer VEGETAL SCULPTING GEL. I apply it a little at a time with my fingertips to make hair very shiny and sleek, and then comb it through to evenly distribute the gel, smoothing the gelled hair down with my fingers, and then pushing the comb with my fingers to keep hair shiny and close to the head, like a helmet.
« Using the end of a rattail comb, I push the hair into an S-shaped finger wave on the right side of the part, almost in line with the arch of the eyebrow. If I see any separation in the hair, I add more SCULPTING GEL with my fingers. It's so light you can add a lot.
« Next, on the low side of the part, I smooth hair around the face, just above the ears with the SCULPTING GEL, combing it through very low, to the ear, and move the rest of the section behind the ears with my comb. Again, using the tail end of the rattail comb, I smooth and shape the hair into a finger wave, placing the curve of the wave to align with the angle of the cheekbone.
« After sculpting the finger waves, I blow-dry the gelled hair using a sock attachment to diffuse the airflow. The diffused heat seals in the wave and shine, and also keeps the smoothed-down hair from separating.
« For the very clean and natural finish in back, I blow-dry hair using a nozzle attachment and round brush to keep the hair smooth. Before blow-drying each section, I spray each one with René Furterer VOLUMEA volumizing conditioning spray - no rinse. We don't want too much volume, but we do want a nice shine and texture.
« Before the girls go to make-up, I clip hair behind each ear with tissue to keep hair from separating. Before the girls hit the runway, for that magical shine, I give hair an allover quick misting of René Furterer GLOSSING SPRAY. It's light and very good for the hair!
[Images courtesy of Paul Quitarino for René Furterer]
