Inside the MAN Cover with BaBylissPRO and Luis Alvarez

Man Cover Babylisspro

Inspired by the dramatic lighting and staging found in Italian fashion magazines, the latest cover collection from BaBylissPRO celebrates various lengths and textures.

“We agonize over the details during the pre-production phase to ensure success on the day of the shoot,” says Luis Alvarez, VP of marketing, creative and education for BaBylissPRO, of the cover collection he and his team created exclusively for MAN Magazine. Featuring three models and five hairstyles—not to mention one sweet ride— the shoot certainly had a lot of moving parts. “The car we shot for the cover is a 1957 Chevy Corvette,” reveals Alvarez. “When I say it is in mint condition, that’s an understatement: It has been meticulously maintained in pristine condition by its owner, Pat Ferris, who is the head of maintenance for our BaBylissPRO division.”

Speaking of meticulous maintenance, the cover look took a lot of precision and mastery. The fade was created using shear-over-comb techniques with the new Gold BaBylissPRO
7” Barber Shear and 8” Barber Thinning Shear. “They’re a must when trying to control and influence the direction of super thick hair,” states Alvarez. Nicole Fowler, director of shows and education, styled the coif by enhancing the texture with Aquage Transforming Paste. While the cover model sports a tight fade, the models in the collection wear their hair longer, and Alvarez says it’s crucial for men’s groomers to know how to work with all lengths. “I believe it is incumbent on every hair artist to expand their toolbox and creative range to fulfill demand as fashion and trends evolve,” he explains. “It is inevitable that for some men, longer hair will become an option.”

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Man Cover Fall

So other than working with several different hair lengths and textures, what was Alvarez’s favorite part of the shoot? The Italian flavor of it all. “Early in my career, I lived and worked in Milan,” says Alvarez, who styled hair for leading Italian fashion magazines. “Most of the editorials I worked on featuring men were composed in the classic portraiture style and were dramatically lit, which imbued the images with a sense of elegance and timelessness.” He and Fowler, who also lived and studied in Italy, were eager to recreate that feel in the collection. “We channeled that aesthetic of classical Italian beauty to seamlessly marry hair and wardrobe into a cohesive, elegant interpretation of men’s longer hair fashion.”

 

[Photography: Luis Alvarez for BaBylissPRO; Hair: Nicole Fowler for Aquage; Grooming: Wanda Alvarez for Satin Smooth]

 

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