Every year, Wella Professionals’ renowned Global Creative Directors, Eugene Souleiman (Care & Styling) and Josh Wood (Color), collaborate to identify four emerging hair trends using comprehensive research from fifteen of the leading independent trend forecasting experts and agencies around the world. Wella Professionals adapts the four key looks to distill the trends for the year ahead. The 2012 trends – Grace, Blaze, Celeste and Roxy – are exemplary of female personalities that influence every facet of fashion and beauty. The 2012 portfolio of looks was revealed in New York City to an audience of over 2,000 international top stylists and influencers from Asia, Europe, Russia and North America.
Wella’s creative forces have already tapped these trends for style inspiration behind the scenes at the Spring ’12 fashion shows. We expect to see more styles inspired by Wella’s trends in the year to come! Here’s what the Global Creative Directors and Wella Professionals’ Celebrity Stylist, Andy LeCompte, and Colorist Aura Friedman predict will be the next big trends from the red carpets to the runways, and on real women.
Grace: The Modern Muse
Grace is the leading lady, poised and perpetually glamorous without even trying. The main inspiration for Grace is nature, although there is nothing natural about this look. Celebrity Stylist Andy LeCompte foresees this look’s effortless elegance will translate into an exceptionally premium finish with shine and fluid texture to the hair. He says, “Grace’s luxurious look is the perfect statement for the red carpet. We’ll see celebrities with more pristine, polished styles and glamorous, bouncy blowouts.” The voluminous look Eugene Souleiman created for DKNY at the Spring ‘12 runway show perfectly illustrates the simple, flowing style Grace embodies. The color palette is soft and light, with a warm glow to emphasize healthy, shiny hair.
Blaze: The Femme Fatale
This trend focuses on stealing the spotlight and overt sensuality. High gloss hair gets even more dramatic with Blaze’s statement styles and Latin flair. Passionate colors like black, grey and fuchsia will come to life in dark, shiny tones so strong they command attention. Graphic styles and daring shapes heighten the drama for this look. When adapting Blaze trend into a hair look, Eugene Souleiman reveals, “I wanted the style to feel like a ‘30s felt cloche hat or be reminiscent of a burlesque dancer from the ‘20s. The whole trend is about the girl feeling like an entertainer.” This concept is conveyed with sharper and sculpted styles, much like the look Eugene created on the runway for the Antonio Marras Spring ‘12 show.
Celeste: The Free Spirit
Celeste is an ethereal, otherworldly persona of pure perfection that cannot be pinned down, which lends to the futuristic trend she represents. Style and color harmoniously illustrate a clear style and translucent and jewel-toned palette. Shine is very important as it creates the glistening, futuristic sense of Celeste. The style appears simplistic and sleeked to perfection. Colorist Aura Friedman drew upon this trend when creating rose gold and peach-hued hair pieces for Peter Som’s Spring ‘12 show. “This look is universally flattering and very wearable for the everyday girl,” says Aura. “Women on the streets are sporting a few subtle tones in their hair for a modern, sophisticated take as the pastel trend has evolved.”
Roxy: The Scene Stealer
Roxy is the natural center of attention as the life of every party and is reminiscent of the ‘70s club culture. For hair, this is manifested into a bold and attention grabbing style that does not shy away from size, shape, and texture. Eugene styled deconstructed buns at Missoni’s Spring ‘12 show, alluding to this raw, textured look. Color also plays an integral role with a cool red palette, deep enough to make a statement but with an edge of sophistication. Josh Wood says, “There is a real shift to a cool red tone, rather than warm in this trend. There are also bursts of violet coming through to give depth.”
