Alexander Mcqueen A/W 2013

Completely in love with this beautiful Elizabethan inspired look from Alexander McQueen's 2013 Autumn winter show. I love the way that the hair is very subtle, yet still very Elizabethan looking, this is similar to the way hair would have been worn under a wig. But the head piece is clearly the main focus. It is completely covered in pearls, which were often used to decorate hair and clothes.

it is clear that the look was inspired by this famous portrait of Elizabeth-

I love how they used a painting to inspire the whole look. I thought the head piece was so quirky and creative but I totally get how this painting influenced it. I found this so inspiring as it is very different to any contemporary Elizabethan hair that I have looked at so far.

contemporary images- http://www.thestar.com/life/fashion_style/2013/03/06/paris_fashion_week_mcqueen_embellishes_with_elizabethan_excess.html

elizabeth portrait -http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2013/feb/13/elizabeth-first-portrait-face-age-unhappiness

Vogue Russia- Elizabethan inspired shoot

I came across this shoot for Vogue Russia when researching contemporary Elizabethan make up, but I was actually really inspired by the hair design.

Today in fashion, designers often take trends from other eras and use them to influence their lines. They will take this trend and twist it in ways that give it a contemporary feel. For example, changing the texture or altering the structure. Hair designs for fashion shows and shoots often include big, extravaggant shapes and frizz- I see Elizabethan inspired hair in fashion all the time. I think Elizabethan styles are used in fashion so often because she was the first lady in history to have such an influence on what other people wanted to look like- all women wanted to be like her. She is said to be the original fashion icon, and this is so frequently celebrated in fashion. The picture above is a perfect example of this- the clothing and accesories are clearly very regal and Elizabethan looking. The hair obviously isnt a classic shape, but it by taking the hair off the face and creating height makes it clear that it was inspired by the elizabethan era. The hairstyle above is very straight and sleek, whereas it was very fashionable to have frizzy and wavy hair in the Elizabethan era.

This is my favourite image from the shoot. Again, they have created height, but by using an accessory/prop. They have shaped the hair around the prop to make it look like a crown which I think is so clever. Using hair decorations or props was very popular, so this is why they have used an accessory for this hairstyle. Plaits have been incorporated into this design too as they were also extremely popular.

Although you cant actually see the hair in this image, I love the head dress that they made! The jewels are arranged in a way that creates a heart shaped hair line and the black netting gives very extravagant shape and structure. Although it is a very abstract interpretation, I can see the Elizabethan influences.

images from http://whatwelovemost.blogspot.co.uk/2010/12/fashion-royalty.html

Cate Blanchett as Elizabeth

Here is an image of Cate Blanchett in the role of Elizabeth 1. While eatching the film i noticed that a lot of the hairstyles in the film were actually historically correct and some were almost direct copies from portraits of Elizabeth. Although the images above aren't excactly the same, I think it is clear that these portraits was used as inspiration for this particular scene in the film. I feel like this wig worn by Cate was inspired by both of these famous portraits- the designer has incorporated elements from both. The decoration and shape from the first portrait is very similar to the image of cate, but they have also incorporated the long, zig-zagged strands of hair from the second portrait.












images found on pinterest,

Final practice

Today I had my last practice at marianne's design before my assessment on Monday. Luckily, this was the best I had ever done it. The plait was neat and tight and the bun had the height and volume that marrianne designed. She was really happy with it and agreed that it was the best I had done it so far. I think it went so well today as I held the plait super tight and kept the tension which meant i got the shape and neatness that i wanted.

Products used:

•  protective cape
• Paddle brush
• pintail comb
• hair bands and grips
• hair pins
• afro comb

Design inspiration

Here are a few images that inspired me!! I've always loved the fashion Mohawk and wanted to use it as the base of my design. To relate it back to Elizabethan hair, I split the hair into three sections. I then split the sections into 3 and pinned them into a bun. This created a subtle crown shape. I originally wanted each bun to look like a regular bun, but I now really like the crown shape that I accidentally created!! Crowns aside, the height of the hair gives an Elizabethan feel. As Elizabethan hairstyles often included a lot of plaits and detail, I wanted to use this is my design. I also felt that my design was looking quite bland- so I added in 6 regular plaits. One going up the side of each section. This added an extra dimension to the hairstyle and enables me to demonstrate another skill.

I love the images of Elizabeth wearing the more extravagant wigs with more height. This is what originally inspired me to do a voluminous up-do. However, I wanted to stay away from the heart shape as I feel that his has been done so many times and I wanted to do something a little bit different.

Contemporary images- pinterest

Elizabeth image- http://www.bbc.co.uk/timelines/ztfxtfr

Perfecing the plait..

I felt so down yesterday after having to change Marianne's design to suit my ability. So, I came home and practiced the plait on my katy doll, and then today met up with Marianne to practice it on her and I did it! It's not the most complicated plait but I am so proud of myself as it is something I have always struggled with. I feel so much more confident about it now, me and Marianne are going to meet up again so I can practice the whole look on her. 

Developing my own design

Last week, I gave Marianne my initial design. This week, I added six plaits to the design, going along the side of every section. I wanted to do this as it added an extra dimension to the design and added an extra Elizabethan element. I'm really pleased with the way this turned out, next time I will get some gems to add to the base of every plait. 

 

Second attempt at partners design

Today was my second attempt at Marianne's design. We decided that this time the bun needed to be a lot higher and a lot bigger- so I did the sectioning differently and then placed the ponytail right on the top of her head. Marianne brought in a new hair rat that was appropriate for her design and this worked really well.

The other part of her design that we wanted to change was that plait- as in her design the hair at the front of the head is scraped back, so we needed to include this hair into the plait that goes over the head. I really struggled with this as i couldnt get my head around all the different sections and couldnt get the plait tight enough so it was really messy. It just stressed me out too much and I knew I wouldn't feel confident doing it this way in the assessment, so me and Marianne came up with an alternative design. Luckily, she has very long hair so I was able to do a regular plait and then wrap it over the head and twist it round in the way she originally wanted, I did the same on the other side of the head. However, these plaits were much smaller than we wanted so tomorrow we are getting together to practice getting the plaits right!Although the plaits were a struggle, Marianne was really pleased with the way I did the bun today.

Here's what I did today- 

Swapping hair designs

Today we swapped hair designs with our partner. Marianne's design was a huge almost beehive shape and then a plait draping over the centre of the head. Doing this showed me just how important sectioning is!! I struggled to get started until I had perfect sections, especially with where the plait was placed. After sectioning, I began with the plait with I initially struggles with as i had never done a plait bends round the head. After doing the plait, we both realised that in her design the hair is scraped back underneath the plait and I had left the front section of hair out of the plait. Marianne hadn't tried this design before so neither of us knew how to fix it. I ended up sweeping the hair round and tucking it behind her ear, joining it into the bun. Lottie gave me advice on how to include the front section of hair into the bun for next time. 

After the plait was done, I moved onto the bun. I crimped the hair and then backcombed using an afro comb, this made the hair a lot bigger with less work. It gave more of a fashion effect which is what Marianne wanted. We didn't use a hair rat to mold the hair around as we didn't have one big enough! Marianne's hair is long enough to create a big bun anyway. However, Marianne s going to bring in a hair rat for our next lesson as she didn't think the bun was big enough. I then pinned the hair back onto the head and then draped it over. I left a small amount of hair out at the bottom of the plait and then wrapped it around a hair pin and put heat on it to create a zig-zag effect.

Although it could have been neater, I am happy with my first go at this design!