Ursula Andress rising from the sea in her iconic role in the James Bond classic Dr. No, served as a sublimely sexy inspiration for the hair and beauty look at the Sophie Theallet Spring 2015 collection. Style Wylde caught up with Peter Gray, key stylist working with Rene Furterer backstage at the show to find out how the look was being put together.
“It all came from Sophie," Gray said backstage at the show. "She was really inspired by her trip to Jamaica. The hair look came by accident when we were doing the hair test and wetting the hair down with product. We were talking about doing something possibly wet, and twisting it in knots in the back. At one point during the test the model went to change. When she came back with her hair all wet she looked like Ursula Andress when she got out of the water in that Bond film. We’d been talking about the collection being inspired by Jamaica, and I was like, absolutely perfect—this is it! Ursula Andress getting out of the water, putting her fingers through her hair.”
Here is the step by step on how it was done:
Begin by spraying the hair with water to make it look wet. Next, starting in back and working one section at a time, apply René Furterer VOLUMEA volumizing foam – no rinse at the roots and comb it through to the ends with a wide-tooth comb. Next, mist sections with René Furterer VOLUMEA volumizing conditioning spray – no rinse and comb it through. Repeat these steps a few times, rewetting the hair with water before reapplying products. Really saturate the hair with both products to achieve the wet texture. Then move on to wet the hair and apply products to the sides and front, slicking hair back, away from the face.
To hold the slicked-back hair in front in place, spray hair with René Furterer VEGETAL FINISHING SPRAY. Tracing the sectioning end of a rat-tail comb through the front emphasizes the look of running the fingers through the hair after a swim. Finally, blow-dry the hair with a sock-style diffuser, to avoid frizz and keep everything smooth and sleek.
While the perfect "just from the sea" hair was being created by the Rene Furterer team, on the other side of the room, key artist Tom Pecheux was leading the MAC team in creating a sun-kissed look using MAC Matchmaster Foundation and Studio Finish Concealer on skin. Eyes were then given a subtle smoke using MAC Fluidline in Dip Down Brown followed by MAC Pro Longwear Paint Pot in Constructionist (a deep brown with red pearl tones.)
And finally, rounding the look out, the Essie Nails team was creating their own bit of magic with a "a negative space double French tip nail using Fiji and Turquoise and Caicos."
Here's how it was done:
Apply Essie first base base coat to the tip of the nail only. Next, brush on a neat arc across the tip of the nail with two coats of fiji; thickness should be wide enough to accommodate the double colored arc. Next, dip an angled eyeliner brush in polish remover and clean up the smile line. Then, brush on a neat arc on the very tip of the nail with two layers of turquoise and caicos, covering over half of the fiji arc. Once dry, apply one coat of first base base coat over the entire nail. Finish with Essie good to go top coat, making sure to cap the free edge of the nail.
All images: S. Whittle for Style Wylde
For more from the Sophie Theallet Spring 2015 collection check out our feature in Runway.