MAKE A SPLASH

THE FORMER IT LIST WINNER LIFTS THE LID ON THE VIRAL HAIR LOOK FROM MEN’S FASHION WEEK IN PARIS

THE SHOW – RAINS A/W24

THE LEAD – KIM RANCE

@KIM_RANCE

Talk us through the concept for the show – you’ve mentioned swimmer hair in captions on social, but how did you and the brand decide on this concept?

The show was called ‘Figures’, and they used 3-D printing to create figurines of the models. Imagine the little army men in Toy Story – they wanted all the models to have a plastic feel to them. Rains is always open to experiment with hair, but while keeping the Rains aesthetic. Initially, we always have a Zoom meeting to discuss all aspects of the creative and from here we collaborate to produce the hair concept. Swimmer hair was an initial reference, from a TikTok trend with synchronised swimmers showing off their plastic-esque hair from performances.

When did preparation begin for the show?

We had our initial call at the end of 2023 to get the concept out there, then I started researching and sourcing references. Going back through photos on my phone, there was an image of a plastic doll I saved at the start of discussions, which is where the style developed. I collaborated with all teams including styling and casting, and further down the line the original hair shape from the initial boards changed and grew. The chosen product from Rains had to be tested before we could be fixed on this idea. I was looking at factors like how it would adapt to all hair types, how would it adapt on other hairstyles and how would it last for more than 12 hours. I had researched many other product mediums along the way, as there were so many additional factors to consider.

How did you go about working with your team to keep calm and focused backstage, when there’s so much to do?

Conceptual hair takes a lot of prep but on the day can be very straightforward as it’s a set look for each model and the styling is a system of steps, whereas more natural hair can be individual to the model or hair type, and the hairstylist doing it. A couple of team members and I were trialling products before I tested with models. When it came to the show, I had the team split into different zones, so no single team member did the look from start to finish themself. When you are in a rhythm of doing one thing on a conveyer belt, you keep consistency and become the master of your zone. It worked great on a show of this size and style, which meant a very calm backstage, but I wouldn’t apply it every time.

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What were the key steps behind the look and how long did you have to work on creating the extreme wet-look effect?

The look was really all about the front of the head, as there were so many hoods and high collars. To make the models look more figurine-like, I wanted the hairline and fringe area to feel very thick and doll-like.

Unless a model had naturally very thick hair, hair extensions were added to the front to fill out the fringe area and give it a very Lego/Playmobil head. Productwise, gel was combed to create and structure the shape. That was dried in with diffusers, then a shellac-like coating was brushed on to give that plastic finish. Any wigs used were prepped the night before with some final cutting done on the day once the models had the wig on their head.

What has been your top highlight from working on the show?

The team and I were so focused that it wasn’t until afterwards that I felt the exhilaration from all the hard work, trust and connection with Rains and my team. There was such a buzz backstage – it was incredible to be a part of. Receiving lovely messages from other hairstylists after the show has been very heartwarming. There has been a beautiful high that leaves you feeling excited for the next season.

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What has reaction been like since the show hit the runway?

Rains creates fun content on TikTok, and the hair video has received the best response out of all the content shared. It’s quite amazing – 4.5 million views! It’s funny for me reading comments of people saying how it looks like certain references we used throughout the development process.