Drop Head Sexy.

Drop Head Sexy

The strong, glamorous hair that photographer Helmut Newton made famous is back and just as potently seductive. By Cara Litke

Some artists spend their lives praying for approval. But for photographer Helmut Newton, the only audience that mattered was himself. "If I were to [consider the public], I would never take a picture," he wrote in Helmut Newton Autobiography (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday). "No, I just please myself." One look at his photos shows that Newton was not interested in shrinking violets. The women in them were often posed in ways that seemed to deliberately provoke arguments about decadence and feminism -- with cigars or other phallic symbols; lying as if murdered; or photographed naked and unashamed. Critics argued that, because of their powerful posture, the women were always a dominant force. His Amazons had perfectly manicured red nails, red lips, dark smoky eyelids, and sharply styled hair. "He was happiest when the hair had a 1940s feel, but he never, ever wanted it to look retro," says Madeleine Cofano, a hairstylist who often worked with Newton. "It was important to him to stay contemporary." And, almost four years after his death, he's more contemporary than ever. It was Newton's pictures -- and his iconic style -- that hairstylists turned to as inspiration for their fall runway looks. Of the sculptural twists he created at the Ferragamo show, hairstylist Eugene Souleiman says, "It's very Helmut Newton. It's a hard-core woman, but she's also very classic." Stylist Damien Boissinot of the Bumble and Bumble salon says, "Helmut Newton's models always had such sophisticated hair -- the look was elegant, cool, and even a little bit mysterious. Women want to look like that now." The artist, once again, gets his way.

Killer Waves Waves look best on very shiny hair, says hairstylist Damien Boissinot. Embroidered silk jersey gown

with sequins by Bill Blass. Makeup colors: ColorStay 12 Hour Eye Shadow Luxurious Color Eyeliner in Black Velvet, Renewist

Lipcolor in Naturally Revealing,

and Nail Enamel in Revlon