Assessment on My Partner

I think that the assessment went the best as I was under pressure and had enough practice to know what I should not do and what Chloe wanted for her final look. I was aware of timing, for example the fact that the curling might take the most time and the padding the least time.

 

 

I was very pleased with the outcome of this after the fails of all my practiced attempts. From the practice I knew that I had to backcomb the hair vigorously and I decided to backcomb each curl individually, which proved to create a better look because it meant that I didn't miss any hair, and also the hair was given volume. I think that the plait looks better in the middle, and I tried my best to keep them tight at the roots and make them look like Chloe wanted them to. Although still not perfect, I think that this was my best attempt. Moreover, I think that the backcombed hair looks very nice over the padding at the back; it wouldn't have looked as good if the padding was still as big as it was when I first practiced. I did run into trouble with the baby hair at the back, however I ended up pulling some up and pinning it to the crepe hair, and hiding the pins under the majority of the hair covering the crepe hair. With the smaller bits I used hairspray to stick them to the hair above, and although it looks gappy I believe this looks better than it would if all the hair was hanging down. Overall I am pleased with how the assessment went because of the fact that I was able to complete the look in the set time, and I created a look that was far better than the first times I had practiced it. I also believe that it was close to how my partner envisaged it to look.

What Do I Imagine My Hairstyle Being Used For?

After having seen examples of Elizabethan style hair in high fashion, I think that this has been my main influence when creating my hairstyle ideas and so I think that it would fit here well, especially when paired with the right makeup and hair accessories. I believe that my main idea would work well with a form of head piece like one of the inspirational photos that I posted, along with a detailed garment.

The Chanel pre-fall 2013 show was my main inspiration for the purpose of the hairstyle, as I believe that it would suit that kind of show when combined with head pieces and jewellery and appropriate garments.

My mind may change once the hairstyle has been created for the final assessment however, because sometimes hairstyles and makeup look different on paper to how they will in real life.

Second Practice of My Partner's Design

During the second practice of Chloe's design, she wanted to tweak it a bit so we tried a look where the hair goes over the padded hair at the back.

 

During this session I believe that the plaits went better and I backcombed more, however I still don't think it was up to standard. It still looked too smooth and was not high enough this time.  Also, she didn't like the hair being pulled over the back, and I don't think it looks as clean and sophisticated as the design before, and so she does not want to do this in the assessment. I found that the padding was still too big, however it was smaller this time and so I will continue to make it smaller in the next practice. The plaits were still becoming loose at the front and so I need more practice to stop this from happening.

Final Design Idea

This is the diagram of my final design idea. I had the inspiration from my post on modern designers' interpretations of Elizabethan hairstyles and my inspirations from modern hairstyles. We also attempted this style in the studio as I wanted to see whether it would be viable, and we found that it was. What I haven't yet decided is what kind of adornments I would like in the hair, if any, however I believe that pearls would be appropriate when placed within the plaits, or in the quiff at the top of the hair. I wrote what equipment would be needed, as it shows that there is not much required to create this hairstyle, which I intended as it will lessen the pressure for my partner within the time limit that we have been given. 

Modern Designers and How They Have Been Influenced By Elizabethans

Still to this day, Elizabethan hair and makeup is influencing looks for fashion looks and editorials; it is everlasting. There are constantly new adaptions, and recently the rise of the Elizabethan has made many an appearance:

Chanel Pre-fall 2013 Collection Catwalk:

Just looking at these photos, it is immediately clear how strong an influence Elizabethan hairstyles and fashion was upon this collection. There was an abundance of red headed models present also, which added to the allusion of Elizabethan times. The strong, regal headpiece on the model in the first photo is a merging of contemporary jewellery and the Elizabethan love of hair accessories and adornments on the head, and I think that it looks incredibly striking. I love how the Elizabethan look has been transformed into an acceptable, modern day aesthetic that is shown to the whole of the fashion world, and the ancient hairstyles are brought back to life and given a 21st century remodel.

Balmain for W Magazine spread: 'Dame of Thrones':

I absolutely loved this feature when I came across it. This whole look has a very strong Elizabethan theme; everything is covered in pearls and lace. What I found interesting about the hairstyle is that they have placed a 'crown' shaped shape on the head of the model, and flattened the hair until it is practically not visible. I love the use of the prop here as it subverts the stereotypical tall, curly Elizabethan hair, but it is still noticeable that the whole look has this influence. This is another example of designers using Elizabethans as an influence for their work, as Balmain has taken the Elizabethan aesthetic and accelerated it. 

Thom Browne Spring 2014:

It is extremely exciting being able to pinpoint which looks and collections have Elizabethan influence, and it is clear that Thom Browne's 2014 spring collection uses Elizabethan hair influence very strongly, as he adds a futuristic twist to it. A lot of the models wear Cauls on their head, however in this instance rather than being decorated with jewels and pearls and lavished with metallic strings, it is white, in order to conform to the monochromatic look of the collection. 

However the collection begins to take a comedic, colourful turn and the cauls are then made colourful and have pearls on them. This particular hairstyle is also a messy version of the tall, padded Elizabethan hair. I love that they have combined Elizabethans with a look that can only be described as 'The Joker' from Batman, a true example of contemporary and Elizabethan looks being convoluted.

Practising My Partner's Design

This was my first attempt at practising my partner's final contemporary Elizabethan design. Despite it not being completely what she wanted and facing some struggles, it was helpful to be able to know exactly where I went wrong and to be able to gauge on the timing of the hairstyle and what skills and materials I will need.

What I discovered after doing this was that the padding was too high up and so she would want this love heart shape at the back to be smaller. If we had not practiced this, I wouldn't have known that it was not the right size. We also used crepe hair instead of padding, which made moulding the shape and size much easier for this, as I also had to create anchoring via plaits in a circle shape on the head, which would have been difficult to attach rat padding to as it is too long, so the ends would have been loose. What I found tricky was trying to make the baby hair at the bottom of her head stay too, and I have yet to figure a solution for this.

I was happy with the height of her backcombed hair here, however I did not make the curling tight and small enough, I made the same mistake of creating curls that were too large. In addition to this, I did not backcomb enough and so her hair here is too smooth and now looks straight as a result, which was disappointing but at least I now know not to do this and how to improve.

With these plaits, Chloe wanted them to be created with a method that consists of braiding the hair, then taking two of the strands in one hand and one in the other, and pushing the two strands up so it looks like hair is intertwining around one strand of hair. However when I did this, the plait would become loose at the root, and it did not look neat, and so I knew that I would need to practice this a lot in order to make it look tighter and also make sure that it would be able to be fastened behind and underneath the backcombed hair at the back.

Adding a Contemporary Element to an Elizabethan Hairstyle

In class, we created an Elizabethan hairstyle that had contemporary elements to it, and I found this quite challenging as I was not completely sure what contemporary element I wanted to have in it, despite knowing that I would like braiding somewhere.

As an attempt at a similar looking plait to the Sam McKnight style, I placed a plait rising from the bottom of the hair behind a heart shaped hairstyle. However I was not really sure what to do with the end of it as my partner's hair was not long enough. This was good to practice as I then knew that this was not what I would want in my final design, and so I decided to go for plaits on the side of the head instead.

 

I believe that these photos show my improvement when it comes to a heart shaped hairstyle, as I was able to create more symmetrical shapes and fasten the hair so that it would not flail about or become dislodged and uncomfortably loose for Chloe. I also did not have a lot of hair at the front for the curls and created smaller, more ringlet shaped curls which I believe is more historically accurate and looks more Elizabethan. I didn't want to make the round shapes too high as her hair was not long enough, however if her hair was longer I could have made a larger heart shaped hairstyle, but I think that both are aesthetically pleasing. I now feel more at ease with padding and creating larger hairstyles than when I first started, and despite feeling like I need a bit more practice, I feel a lot more capable. I believe that portrait research has also been helpful in that I am able to gauge what is an Elizabethan hairstyle and what isn't, and can recognise that what I have created isn't necessarily historical.

Elizabethan Hair in Films

Media representation of Elizabeth's hair gives the viewers an idea as to just how elaborate the hairstyles were in those days. Films and TV shows aim to be as accurate as possible, and it is clear how they conform to the use of wigs, headpieces and headwear adornments.

Elizabeth (1998)

At the start of the movie, Elizabeth still has her hair and is unmarried and not on the throne, and so she has less elaborate and shorter hairstyles. She has braiding and twisted hair around the back of the head, and it is clear that her hair is long enough to be able to do this without the help of fake hair.

Once Elizabeth has become queen, it is clear how her aesthetics change dramatically. She has a headpiece and a larger forehead, and she has pearls all across the hair.

Padding will have been used to make the hair as high as this, which was fashionable and desirable for women.




Elizabeth: The Golden Age

In the next film, Elizabeth again has the large, elaborate hairstyles. Tight curling has been done to create the corkscrew curl look, placed above very high padding. Moreover, the designers have added hair adornments that consist of pearls and feathers too, which compliments the outfit that she is wearing.






Blackadder

In Blackadder, Elizabeth's hair appears more natural, however still large. Also, her hair is a more vibrant red colour, and her forehead is smaller. She still has her pearl decorations and gold features across the head, however her hair is this style across the series, which is not necessarily accurate as Elizabeth had an extensive hair piece collection.



Elizabeth R (1971)

In this TV Show, Elizabeth looks decrepit and haggard, and, much like the fashion in those days, her hairline has been shaved back to an unnatural length. Moreover, she wears a bright red hairpiece with flower accessories on it. I think this may be most accurate as 40 years ago hair pieces won't have been as professional as they are these days, and they would have been more so in the tudor times. Like the other media, she doesn't seem to have heart shaped hair or braiding which is unusual.






The Virgin Queen (1955) 

This hairstyle is more elaborate than the other ones that I have looked at, as there is a lot of braiding, padding and twisted hair. I like the fact that the hair at the back is symmetrical and square shaped, which is quite unnatural and like the hair is a decoration rather than a natural entity on the head. Moreover, there is a lot of decoration here, it is clear from all of these examples that Elizabeth never had plain hair, she would always have some sort of jewellery or decorations on her headpieces.