Essential Looks 2013 India, was held at three main metros, Mumbai, Chennai & Delhi. For those who caught on, it was an hair event that wont soon be forgotten. Schwarzkopf Professional presented their four hair ambassadors – Sofia Bode Upadhyay, Ryan D’ Rozario, Anthea Rodriques and Savio John Pereira. Each of these brand ambassadors are unique and well-known stylists who have contributed in bringing hairdressing industry to where it stands today. We had the opportunity to speak with them in an exclusive interview. Here’s what they have to say!
Team MissMalini (TeamMM): How was your experience working on Essential Looks 2013?
Anthea Rodriques (AR): It was a remarkable experience! The Electric youth look is a super fun, out of the Box collection with contrasting textures and exaggerated shapes.
Ryan D’ Rozario (RR): Being the lucky one to be present for the Main Essential Looks event in Berlin, Germany was a high by itself. The show had a mix of models & dancers portraying upcoming hair and fashion trends. Being on the Schwarzkopf team is a boost to ones creativeness as a lot of priority is given to training and to hone ones skills even further.
“The Colour Buzz Collection” which was what Essential Looks 2013 was all about, as the name states, the main focus was colour, so there is a lot of colour play within these looks and the haircuts have most genres in the four trends. It was these looks that were presented amidst a great dance troupe.The show was fun, zippy and educational which was showcased in a screen a 100 x 20 feet wide.
Savio Jon Pariera (SP): It was truly exciting and exhilarating and after being the Brand Ambassador for 5 years
this 2013 collection had a lot more commercially viable looks and variations and still held a creative edge on all the looks.
Sofia Bode Upadhyay (SU): This year the Essential Looks was very well organized. The looks were very chic and adaptable for the Indian Consumer. The colours were very vibrant, especially the reds.
TeamMM: Which look is your favorite? (most popular look out from the 4)
AR: It would be the Glam Chic which is an ultra feminine, sensuous look and since the Marseille waves are back in a big way I’m sure this look will do great this season.
RR: In terms of color it has to be Mono Mods placement and for the cut Glam Chic is preferred by the clients, I personally think this look will go down well with our traditional outfits including the hair colours on our Indian skin tone. I have already “Indianised” a few of the looks, since Indian girls don’t like their hair too thin nor too short.
SP: The Mono Mods was my favourite as the looks were commercially viable and adaptable to different lengths (Short, Medium and Long), adaptable to different hair textures (Straight, Wavy and Curly). The looks have got a youthful vibe to them with a lot of exciting energy and can still work with different age groups and personalities. The color direction was commercially viable and structured creating definitions and movements to the structured hair cuts.
SU: Glam Chic. Very glamorous and sensuous. These are the most client friendly cuts and can be practiced by the stylists across the country with ease.
TeamMM: What was the most defining moment for you when you worked on Essential Looks 2013?
AR: The most defining moment for me is when the entire collection comes alive on stage. It’s awesome!!!
RR: Well since I had worked on the look called White Angles, this trend has a lot of short haircuts accompanied by very graphic fringes so to get the models to comply about cutting their locks was a real task by itself. On the day of the show, with the help of the Schwarzkopf team, the Schwarzkopf Colorist and the fashion stylist we portrayed this trend to near perfection as in the lines of the Berlin show.
SP: The looks were precise and structured with sharp lines, edgy fringes and intricate color placements defining movement an structure so I had to pay a lot of attention to detail on all the looks. But overall the most defining moment for me during the Essential looks 2013 was presenting my 5 models on stage and cutting my on stage models sharp, edgy and precise fringe in one and half minute flat.
SU: The original looks were created on Caucasian Hair. To recreate the same looks on Indian Hair and hearing the applause from the crowd when my 5 models walked the ramp gave me immense satisfaction. It is very encouraging to know that the crowd loves what they see. I am sure that the looks presented this year will be a big hit in the market.
TeamMM: Which look is the most challenging to create?
AR: ‘White Angles’ which is a very oriental inspired, sculptured, graphic look.
RR: I would have to say the White Angles. In the catwalk look the hair has to be super short but still have feminine lines to it. In the short salon look, both sides of the haircut are of asymmetric lengths and meet above one of the eyebrow, great precision has to be taken while cutting so as to get the look on day to day basis. Needless to say this haircuts work great on super straight hair or straightened hair.
SP: The Halo from the Mono Mods because it had to be cut into a circle from the forehead circling it around the ears to the nape and it had to be evenly balanced and graduated throughout and I still had to retail a sharp line around it. The color placement had to be extremely precise and well balanced which made it extremely sharp and intricate.
SU: White Angles because you need to be very precise in your lines and angels.
TeamMM: On what basis do you decide the color for the season?
AR: Colors during Spring/Summer are always bright, fun and vibrant. Autumn/Winter colors are deeper with shades of Red Cherries, Rich Browns & Sensuous coppers.
RR: Firstly we do take our cues from the international hair fashion scene, from the catwalks, session works, etc. but there are a lot of times that we have to improvise cause of our culture, skin tones, husband/family pressures (lol), etc. For example, in the last season, Ombré colouring techniques was about hair going from dark roots to light gold or blonde tips but here at Salon we would go from dark to medium browns graduating to gold chunky ends hence getting a feel of the Ombré technique.
SP: I follow the global trend report keeping in mind the clothes, the make up, the shoes, the accessories and the kinds of colors they would be carrying for the season. I also take a lot of feedback from my clients who are globe trotting on business and on holidays.
SU: The focus is on the trends that I see in the fashion industry in Milan, Paris and New York. You need to constantly update yourself with the latest trends and hair fashion and appraise your clients on the same. My clients expect this from us and we need to give them all the options.
TeamMM: How do you think is IGORA Royal different compared to the other products in the market?
AR: IGORA Royal with its New High Definition technology has an excellent range of colors. Its ultimate color retention, intense vibrant colors, great coverage, amazing unique mix of essential care elements is far superior in comparison to other products available in the market.
RR: Firstly it has one of the widest range of colours available in the market today. These colours have upto 50% longer colour retention, with 25% greater vibrancy which minimizes colour fade to a greater extent, perfectly even colour results, regardless of hair porosity. Great for people who live in hard water areas or people who are unsure of the type of water being supplied to their buildings.
The new Igora Royal also has upto 70% coverage on white hair when using fashion shades it means that if one has a lot of grey hair, they can have younger looking soft shades of browns ,mahogany, auburns etc. instead of black or dark looking colours.
SP: Through my personal experience as a hairdresser and colorist for the last 14 years, I worked with all the professional brands but where Schwarzkopf is concerned they have the largest range of colors. The colors are much milder on the hair at the same time leaving a good shine and healthy glow.
SU: Igora stays true to its tone and also has a lot of caring agents which allows your hair to breathe. This is by far the best colour I have worked with in India.
TeamMM: Which Bollywood Celebrity have you worked with/would you like to style and how?
AR: My personal favourite celebrity would be Kangana Ranaut. Her hair is always styled beautifully, but if given a choice, I would like to style Katrina Kaif who has got gorgeous hair but has not experimented much with it.
RR: I would love to colour Priyanka Chopra‘s hair for one of her international songs video releases with Mono Mods where one side of the hair is one colour and the other side another. I think that would look pretty hot for someone so Exotic (we agree!). Another artist would be AR Rahman who is about to do his Australian tour, whom we are already styling and we have personalized a version of the quiff on his semi-short hair.
SP: I have styled for Bollywood actresses like Priyanka Chopra, Shilpa Shetty, Kangana Ranaut,Sonakshi Sinha, Neha Dhupia, Urmila Matondkar, Minissha Lamba, Aarti Chhabria, and Yana Gupta where most of their looks have been inspired through the Essential Looks from the last couple of years. I would love to re-style our young brigade of actress’s – Anushka Sharma, Deepika Padukone and Parineeti Chopra also the legendary Madhuri Dixit and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.
SU: I love to work with Deepika Padukone. She has changed her style over the years and carries them off with ease and lots of attitude.
Read more about Schwarzkopf Professional Essential Looks here:
Lisa Haydon at the Unveiling of Schwarzkopf Igora Royal Colours
Schwarzkopf Professional Essential Looks 2013 – The Color Buzz Collection
Najeeb Ur Rehman on the Hottest Hair Trends of the Season
Schwarzkopf Professional Essential Looks – Bringing the Catwalk to the Salon