Interview

Thakoon billed his spring collection as "warrior-surf" and reflects a set of binaries: hard and soft, natural and artificial, with organic construction or armoring of the body, contrastes with patterns cut around the body as a canvas with soft draping. The palette is muted watercolors with an array of nudes, blues, pinks and aquas.

To get the "sumo meets surfer" look, Thakoon Panichgul, Wella's Eugene Souleiman, and Eva Scrivo collaborated for a finished style that demonstrates the contrast between tight and loose elements, which the collection encapsulates. A sleek, tight-to-the-head "seventh samurai" ponytail is sculpted on the top half, while leaving out loose, textured ends in a knot. Free-flowing, beachy waves left down in back, allows the look to exude a variety of contradictory elements that don't blend, but balance.  Colored extensions add dimension and life to help form the overall shape.


Wella Professionals colorist Eva Scrivo directed a team of Wella stylists to create customized extensions for 35 models.  Using Wella Professionals Color Touch demi-permanent hair color for  dimension and shine; the extensions reflect a full spectrum of shades. Blocks of color add depth, while a finishing glaze blends and integrates the contrasting light and dark tones into a beautifully, cohesive color palette of natural shades.

The Face:

The collection consisted of so many sharp edges and aqua-blues that deisgner Thakoon wanted the girls to look like warriors so that they could really wear and carry the strong clothing. With such bright colors, the goal was to keep the face a bit more monotone overall but still to impart strength around the eyes and cheekbones.

A very strong and luminous face is the key to getting this look right. "It's a beach warrior look—surfer girl meets Seven Samurai," says lead artist Diane Kendal. She used a minimal amount of makeup everywhere, but contoured the cheeks and kept the eye deeply set to convey an image of power through minimalism.


Sarah Howard is the editor of Beauty Banter.