The Hair Diaries.(hairdressing)

Byline: Victoria Kirby

Five masters of the runway explain their inspirations, methodsand tips you can use at home.

A recent poll showed that women spend an average of 23 minutes styling their hair before a big event. That's nearly double the amount of time that hairstylists working backstage at fashion shows often have to get up to 60 models blow-dried, fitted with extensions, fully updo'd or curled, and out on a runway. And unlike the rest of us, hairstylists must also work in cramped backstage quarters, contend with unorthodox materials such as feathers and paint, and withstand the heat of 40 blow-dryers running in unison. "The backstage experience wavers between fun and total anxiety," hairstylist Guido says. "There's the excitement of helping bring a designer's vision to life, but then there's the fear factor of trying to pull it off in so little time." Says hairstylist Orlando Pita, "The collaboration process is my favorite part of doing the shows." We tapped the top hairstylists working in fashion today to find out how they come up with fresh and exciting new looks season after season, and what practical styling advice they draw from creating beauty out of chaos.

"Hair, like accessories, is a key element to getting my message across each season," says designer Narciso Rodriguez. Adds Guido, "I don't know one designer who is casual about the hair." The process goes something like this: The designer and hairstylist, along with the makeup artist, typically meet a day or two before the runway show. "We discuss the inspiration for the clothes and what the venue and the music will be," hairstylist Eugene Souleiman says. "Then I really examine the clothesthe proportions, the materials, how the fabrics move when the models walk. All of this helps me consider how the hair should look." Then the hairstylist begins whipping up looks, having checked his or her ego at the door. "I create whatever the designer asks me to do, even if it's a style I've never seen before," hairstylist Odile Gilbert says. "It's my job to bring to life what this person has in mind."

That said, hairstylists are hardly at a loss for words when asked to cite their inspirations. There's art, pop culture, the history of fashion, and the woman they saw one afternoon at Galeries Lafayette. Here, the stylists spell out the thinking behind their favorite spring 2008 shows.

Guido

Marc Jacobs: "Marc felt like he hadn't done a big hair statement in a while, and he wanted to make one this season. We talked about some of those classic big-hair shapes from the '60s, like Elizabeth Taylor in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Anne Bancroft in The Graduate . I started teasing the hair, and it just got bigger and more teased, but we kept a form to it and made the texture matte to give it a contemporary twist. I only did one or two tries for that look."