Joe Brummell #26 – A/W 2012 Hair Trends – Italian Style

Milan is currently overrun with fashion editors, style conscious celebs and Europe’s finest designers as fashion week has rolled around once more to snap up out of our post-Christmas blues. Before that glorious bi-annual event reaches our shores, we can take a look at what the great and the good of fashion royaltyhave planned for our barnets in Autumn/Winter 2012. Here’s my round up of the dominant hairstyles that ruled the runways in Italy.

The ‘Fro
The house of Alexander McQueen, now helmed by Sarah Burton -British Designer of the year in 2011, presented a sombre collection of suits in Milan. With a limited greyed out palette typified by traditional tweed wool and pinstripe textiles, the most exciting element of the collection was by far the hair. Afro’s of varying sizes and shapes added some much need edge to an otherwise stuffy collection of suits.

Frosting?
Don’t worry I’m not talking about frosting as in highlights (heaven forbid). I am however talking about Vivienne Westwood’s eccentric hair and beard styling pursuits for her Autumn Winter collection. We all know how Westwood campaigns tirelessly in the name of climate change and this seems to have bled off the slogans on her t-shirts right onto the hair of the models. Delicately draped in icicles and frosty stalactites beards, long fringes and extraordinary moustaches only added to Westwood’s legendarily idiosyncratic designs.

Quifftastic
The biggest hair trend for guys – the Don Draper 1950’s quiff, continues unabated, it would seem. Spotted all over Milan at every designer’s show this style is inescapable, but one designer does it better than anyone, and that designer is Donatella Versace. Still high from the success of the label’s sold out H&M high street collaboration thishairstyle seems drunk on it’s own success. Her men’s collection had a profoundly Italian take on the style, over the top, gaudily shiny and super high this was the quiff at it’s pimped out best.