Runway Report: Long and Lean at AREA

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In a hallway of the Hotel Wolcott, row upon row of bagged hair extensions marked with neatly typed names sit ready to be sewn. Two Cutler Salon stylists work thread through clips, securing them to the lengthy extensions. Peter Gray, Cutler Salon/Redken hair lead, is taking the chaos and cramped space in stride—and he's somewhat thankful that the hair look for the AREA Fall/Winter 2017 show is nothing too contrived. "It's super simple and reductive," he says as he digs through the bags of extensions. "We're extending the models' hair 20 to 30 inches—super long, that's what the designers want," he says. To be sure, some models find their newfound hair skimming well past their bottoms—all the more beautiful against the sexy monochromatic ensembles. The hairstyle’s success depends upon ensuring the hair looks believable. "It's about quality blending of the hair," Gray says. Because the hair is being kept straight and sleek (thanks to prep down with Cutler Volumizing Spray, and then careful coating of Redken All Soft Argan 6 Oil and Diamond Oil), blending is of the utmost importance. To keep the silhouette tight, Gray says, "We're razoring the ends, making them extra-skinny."

Nails get lengthy too, and Look Nail Color lead Tracylee polishes the ballerina-shape tips in either Cafe Au Lait nude, Ruby red, Chocolate or a mocha hue she custom blends using Chocolate and Cafe Au Lait. Some manicures receive a monochromatic 3-D flower, which Tracylee sculpted prior to the show using liquid and powder and matted down with matte top coat. "It's more chic," she says of the flat finish. —Karie L. Frost

[Images: Karie Frost]

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