Sunday 29 November 2015

Project Evaluation


Overall I have found this project both challenging at times yet also really rewarding. To begin with I was quite unsure how and where I felt this project was going however the more research I collected and tasks we completed the easier I found it to create and envision new ideas about where I felt the project was going. In my opinion the turning point in my process of collecting ideas came about when I began researching modern hairstyles with Elizabethan features and I came across catwalk collections from a variety of designers and their models appeared to have hairstyles that were heavily inspired by Elizabethan styles. When finding these it allowed me to think of how I would interpret Elizabethan hairstyles and another important part in the progression of my ideas came when we began looking at bridal hairstyles and I came across the waterfall braid. I thought this specific style of braid was beautiful and loved how simple it was to create such a beautiful piece in someone’s hair. The combination of these two factors allowed me to develop and produce a variety of ideas that eventually turned into my final idea that I wanted to use for my outcome. Once I had done this it was time to swap ideas with my partner and begin our practice, it was really nice being assigned a partner as she was someone I hadn’t really spoken to before but we found that we got on really well and really well together. At first we both found each other’s designs quite difficult however the more we practiced the easier we found it. I think my partner execute my design really well and even though I would have liked it slightly differently I still believe she did an amazing job. Even though I had done plenty of practice and tried my best I was quite unhappy with how I executed my partners design, as I know I could’ve done better as it had done during some of our practices. I feel that I may have put myself under too much pressure on the day and that if I had relaxed it may have gone better. However I know for next time what I would do differently and how I can improve. All in all I have loved the challenging aspects of this project and found it really interesting to look at some of the historical aspects of hairstyles and how it has influenced modern fashion trends. 

Friday 27 November 2015

Final Images and Evaluation - My Partner's Design and My Assessment








In general I found this creating and executing my partners design a lot more difficult than I had first anticipated. Her design was really beautiful and we both knew from the beginning that there was one aspect of her design that I would find really difficult to replicate, this was the roses that she wanted around her hairline. From our first practice session together we began trying out different ways to make these roses, using google and asking Lottie for her help and advice, Lottie’s advice was the best and most helpful and her process of making the roses is the one we chose to use and move forward with. The process involved taking two even segments of hair and coating them completely in hairspray, waiting for it to dry slightly and then slowly teasing a pair of straighteners over the two segments individually. This made the two segments extremely hard and stiff, yet I was still able to shape them into the shapes that I wanted. I rolled one up in a spiral shape and gripped these into place and then wrapped the other side in the opposite direction to the spiral and then gripped this firmly into place and set it using a lot of hairspray. Repeating this all along the hairline for each rose. During my practices I seemed to get better at this and found the outcome was better each time, however during the assessment for some reason I found it really difficult and struggles greatly in creating the roses. I think it may have been due to stress and worry, as I was rather stressed about this assessment piece. After spending a lot longer than I intended on the roses I decided it would be best if I left them to set and came back to them closer to the end, to make any finishing touches and hopefully fix them slightly. I then moved onto crimping my partner’s hair. In her design she wished for her hair to be really smooth from the roots until the top of her ears, where she wished for the crimping to start. I found the crimping part of this design really easy as I just needed to section the hair and crimp each segment. I was quite happy with the way I crimped her hair and how I managed to get the line going around her head quite even, I feel that this was the part I was proudest of. Overall I was left quite unimpressed with myself and the outcome I had created, as I knew I could do better and had done in my practices. Even though I knew I could do better and it wasn’t the best representative of my work, I felt the photographs didn’t come out too badly and I was pleased with hoe it looked on the images. I know that if I were to do this again I would try and not be as stressed, which may not be easy, however if I had been more relaxed I know it could’ve gone much better and I would’ve been happier with my outcome. 

Friday 20 November 2015

Final Images - My Design and My Partner's Assessment






Overall I was extremely happy with how my final design came out and was so happy with well my partner executed it, as I thought she did an amazing job. I feel like the finished look of the hairstyle turned out just as well as I had hoped and looks really beautiful when photographed. Even though I thought it was beautifully executed there were a few small changes that I thought could have been made or minor faults with how my partner executed the look. For example, the crimp was meant to go along the line of the braid however my partner didn’t manage to get it low enough down and some of the crimp went too far up and could be seen above the braid right at the very back. I feel as though this is the only major fault I had with the execution of my design and even my partner felt the same way. Other than that there was a minor change I might have made and that would’ve been to make the waterfall braid a bit larger and perhaps more defined. However I don’t think it was a major fault and I was still extremely happy with how well my partner handled the waterfall braid, as I know she found it quite difficult at first but the more she practiced the better she became and I couldn’t fault her resilience in trying to execute it to the standard that she did. Therefore I was extremely pleased with my designs outcome and my partner’s extreme hard work and determination as I feel she executed my design beautifully. 







Sunday 15 November 2015

Hair Consultation Notes: My Partners Hair

  • Hair Length: Mid-length 
  • Scalp Description: Normal
  • Condition: Healthy
  • Natural Texture: Straight
  • Density: Thick 
  • Hair-loss or scalp related conditions: None
  • Allergies: None
  • Natural / Bleached / Dyed: Dyed Blonde


Wednesday 11 November 2015

Practice of my partners design:


Due to the difficulty of the roses in my partners design I felt that I needed to practice it a few times to ensure that I can recreate it successfully and that it looks as good as possible. I found the most effective way of creating the roses was to use the method of using two separate pieces of hair, hairspray and straighteners, then twisting the strands into place and again setting it with more hairspray and leaving the pins in until it has gone stiff. Here are the results of my practice. 



So far this has been my most successful practice and I feel as though this is the best the roses have looked out of all of my practices. I feel like I have finally come to grips with this part of the design and the rest will hopefully fall into place, as I feel most confident with the crimping and styling off the rest of it. I hope that during the assessment practical it goes as well as it has during my practices and that I can create a successful and complete hairstyle to the standard my partner wishes for it to be. 

Monday 9 November 2015

Practice 2:


When practicing my partners design a second time around it was much easier, as I knew how to create the roses in a way that worked well. However I still need to practice further for it to be just as she wants it. I also need to use much smaller hair grips, so they’re less visible and can slide into the hair much easier. I was much more impressed with it this time as I had practiced the roses myself before the lesson and then found it easier to apply the style to my partner. I feel well prepared for the assessment and feel that I will be able to create the style of hair that she wants. 


Sunday 8 November 2015

Marc by Marc Jacobs Autumn/Winter 2013-2014 Catwalk







The hairstyle chosen for this collection reminds me greatly of Elizabethan hairstyles and I feel as though it may have been inspired by the Elizabethan period. The curls, frizz and volume remind me greatly of the ideals for Elizabethan beauty in that era. In the images the curls have been frizzed out and backcombed, to add more texture and volume, which I believe has made it more appropriate for modern fashion trends as it’s not as tight and structured as the Elizabethan hairstyles. I feel like these hairstyles are really feminine and beautiful and can easily draw connections to the style in the Elizabethan era. 

Wednesday 4 November 2015

Vivienne Westwood's Spring/ Summer 2013 Collection











In Vivienne Westwood’s S/S 2013 catwalk for her collection her models hair were styled in a way that reminded me a lot of Elizabethan hairstyles. Many of the styles worn by the models were different, however in my opinion they all seems to have some connection to the hairstyles that were fashionable in the Elizabethan era. Ranging from frizzed up-dos to curled and eccentric looking frizzed hair. The shape of some of the up-dos resembles the style of the Elizabethan era, as they are often large and rounded, with some appearing to be slightly heart shaped, iconic to the era. The body and texture of the hairstyles is the biggest component that reminded me of Elizabethans. They were renowned for their body and texture in their hair and I feel it has been recreated in a contemporary way brilliantly in these styles. I love the use of messy frizz and this is something I aim to have recreated in my design. 



Tuesday 3 November 2015

Practicing my partners design

Practice One:


My partner designed her final look to have a sort of crown of roses made from her hair, going around the front of her head and for this to follow her hairline down to her ears. She then wanted the rest of her hair crimped, from the top of her ears to bellow and for this line to follow around her head and for the hair at the top of her head to be almost slicked down. She then said that she would like to add an adornment to her hair, where the crimp meets the slicked down hair and that this will be the divider between the two sections of hair. 


I found this hairstyle really challenging at first and it took a long time for me to get to grips with how to do the roses. I have never previously done anything like this before and it was really difficult, however after looking online for different tutorials on how to create these roses I gave it a go. We attempted many different techniques with many not working however towards the end we found a technique that worked particularly well. For the technique that worked, I needed two sections of hair and for them to be of an even size, then spraying one section with hairspray and coating it. I then took straighteners and heated this section and then eventually straightening it properly, causing it to be stiff. I repeated this with the other section. I then took one of the sections and twisted it around, causing it to spiral. Then I rolled it up and pinned it into place using hair grips. Then I took the other section and wrapped it around the looped piece of hair and pinning this in place again. After repeating this and creating a few roses, we decided that these looked the best and that we would use this method again. After spending a long time on the roses, we decided to try the crimping. As I have done a lot of crimping before I found this straight forward and easy. To complete the hairstyle we decided to quickly pin some pieces of hair, even though we wouldn’t do this in the final design, it was merely done as a test to see how it would look when replaced with adornments such as jewellery. 

I need to practice creating the roses as this is the only thing I drastically struggled with, however now that we have found a technique that works I can use this and practice it myself and hopefully get to a good enough standard for the final assessment. 


Sunday 1 November 2015

Corrie Nielsen Autumn/Winter 2011











The style of hair presented on the catwalk greatly reminds me of the hair that was worn throughout the Elizabethan ere, ranging from the styles of the upper-class and monarchy to the lower/working classes. The braided and tightly curled up-dos remind me a lot of the styles worn by the working class in Elizabethan times, not much height or texture however beautiful detail in the braiding and tight curls that have been delicately placed in an up-do. Whereas the more extravagant styles strongly remind me of the hairstyles of the upper-classes and monarchy, very frizzy, wild and some of the shapes slightly resemble a heart shape, a key feature in the style of Elizabethan hairstyles. I love how the styles are all different, yet very feminine and beautiful. 
Elizabeth I (1998) and Elizabeth The Golden Age (2007)





These still are taken from the films Elizabeth I and Elizabeth The Golden Age which were based on the life of Elizabeth I. The hair in the films is an amazing example of the Elizabethan ideal for beautiful hair. Many people saw their queen as a style icon and copied her look from her clothes, makeup and hair. The hair in both films is a great example of the hair as the styles all have plenty of body, texture, curls, frizz and shape to them, whether that is a rounded shape or a heart shape. The hair in both of these films also are often adorned with decorations another key feature of Elizabethan hair, and they would adorn it with things like pearls, hats, crowns or jewels. The hair stylists in these films recreated really beautiful Elizabethan hairstyles.