Queen for a Day

No royal messes here! Redken’s Odile Gilbert sculpts hair into crowning glory at the Carmen Marc Valvo show.

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Designer: Carmen Marc Valvo

Products: Redken

Odile Gilbert knows a thing or two about styling royalty. After all, the hair guru recently reimagined the towering powdered coif of a woman most famous for losing her head—Marie Antoinette—for Sophia Coppola’s sexy biopic of the misunderstood queen.

So, even though backstage at Carmen Marc Valvo’s spring showing Gilbert has ditched the white powder in favor of Redken quick dry 18 instant finishing spray and a handful of bobby pins, her skilled eye for aristocratic updos comes in handy as she styles princess after princess for the runway.

Mature socialites well-versed in the art of taking a perfect picture—America’s royalty, if you will—favor Valvo’s dresses. The hair is much like Carmen Marc Valvo’s designs: sweeping and sophisticated, delicately constructed and detailed. Instead of rolling strands into a traditional chignon, Gilbert shapes an artful style by crafting a mid-height ponytail which she then maneuvers into a serpentine-like sculpture that slithers smoothly down the back of the head.

Though Gilbert remains mum on the inspiration (“There is none!” she quips), it’s quite obvious that this hairstyle comes straight from the chronicles of the most elegant upper-crust women—Valvo’s endless list of clients—whose quiet restraint calls for such demurely beautiful gowns and hair.

Score This Look:

This noble style is best achieved with this Redken product:
Redken quick dry 18 instant finishing spray:  For quick styling with superior hold