For spring 2012, Sarah Burton put some lace in our face, well in the models’ faces that is, with her Alexander McQueen runway presentation. She brought out more greatness in the form of sensual colored lace. Hues ranging from ivory to red to black with softer shades in between were seen throughout the collection. Her high waisted dresses show off a traditional silhouette, while more dramatic noir looks carried a shock value with them. Shoes also became an eyecatching staple with knee-high lace up heels and metallic gold accented shoes.

The garments transitioned emotionally from delicate to dominant. This was also reflected in the headwear, which became more dramatic as well. Underneath the lace head pieces were hair creations from Redken’s Guido Palau. The hair stylist said of the looks, “Overall this season, there was a simplicity and wearablility to the styles we created, but this is not one of them. Often we talk about Fashion Week hairstyles as being more fantasy and aspirational, and the look we created today at Alexander McQueen is just that. All the models are wearing these very intricate masks that I designed with Sarah [Burton] and the idea came from the masks we created for the McQueen exhibit at the Met in New York. It’s always fun and different to work in a design capacity, so when Sarah showed me the collection, the “hair” evolved from there. Each headpiece is slightly individual. In order for the masks to fit on the models’ heads, we braided the hair underneath. This made the overall look more embellished and richer, as you can slightly see the braids through the mask.”

Models Sigrid Agren, Zuzanna Bijoch, Andie Arthur, Kasia Struss, Siri Tollerød, Nimue Smit, Hanne Gaby Odiele, Josefien Rodermans, and Frida Gustavsson all had parts of their faces delicately covered on the catwalk.

Burton continues to wow the fashion world with her deep appreciation for McQueen’s aesthetic and her designs, which are carrying the house towards a feminine direction, while remaining artistic and edgy.

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[images via Style.com]

All of the tantalizing images were captured by photographer Steven Meisel, while stylist Charlotte Pilcher takes responsibility for the hot attire. As for the perfect bedroom hair? We can thank hair stylist Guido Palau for that. Of course, wherever we find Palau’s work, Pat McGrath‘s makeup artistry is right around the corner. If you can manage to peel your eyes away from the Choos, you’ll realize the brand also makes handbags, which are strategically placed in many of their ad campaign shots.

Time to add a few more items to the “currently coveted fashions will someone please buy them for me?” wish list!

Professional Credits:

For the Alexander McQueen show (which I loved) the look had a helmet feel. According to Guido, “overall this season we created very wearable looks, but this is not one of them. Often we talk about Fashion Week hairstyles as being more fantasy and aspirational, and the look we created today at Alexander McQueen is just that. When developing this look, I took inspiration from old paintings of women going into battle and different helmets from the middle ages, representing a very strong, confident woman.”

Achieve the look:

• - Pull hair into a low ponytail
• - Place silver (or black) clips down the ponytail (about ¾)
• - Flip ponytail up and secure to the back of the head
• - Place clips around all other hair exposed portions of the head so hair is completely covered

At Lanvin it was all about the braid! “We wanted to create a very natural look for the collection this season.  Sometimes keeping the hair simple and natural makes more of a statement on the runway” said Guido.

Achieve the look:

• - Apply Redken wool shake 08 gel-slush texturizer to dry hair for texture
• - Create a center part with your fingers
• - Pull hair back and create a braid beginning at the nape of the neck and secure with a clear elastic
• - Pull a few pieces out around the face so the braid looks natural and not too polished

While working the Balenciaga show, models had a more natural hair look. The result was a style that is “very modern, easy, sophisticated – like a woman would wear her hair” said Guido.

Achieve the look:

• - Prep hair with Redken satinwear 02 ultimate blow dry lotion and blow dry in sections with a Mason Pearson brush moving up to the crown
• - Back brush at the crown for extra lift
• - Create a messy side part and sweep hair over forehead
• - Bring all hair together at nape of the neck and secure in a low ponytail with an elastic, making sure to keep the height at the crown from the back brushing
• - Finish entire look with a light spritz of Redken shine flash 02 glistening mist for just a hint of shine

Runway hair was inspired by film for Jean Paul Gaultier‘s show. Guido say’s he was “inspired by Alred Hitchcock’s The Birds and we used wigs to portray a very done bourgeois woman.”

Achieve the look (without a wig):

• - Rough dry hair
• - Create a 2-inch center part
• - Backcomb hair to create an airy texture
• - Twist hair into a French Twist leaving volume at the crown
• - Finish with forceful Redken 23 super strength finishing spray all over hair to secure in place

At Sonia Rykiel, models rocked a textured asymmetrical do. According to Guido, “This style was inspired by the 40s, and embodies both masculinity and femininity at the same time with the two different textures – matte in the back and shine in front. This is a very wearable look for women today.”

Achieve the look:

• - Apply Redken Nature’s Rescue Radiant Sea Spray and rough dry into hair
• - Create a deep left side part
• - On both sides of the head, loosely twist a section above the ear and secure both sections with pins in the back
• - Pull hair into a low ponytail and backcomb adding thickness and texture
• - Roll hair up toward the nape, turning slight to the right, creating an asymmetrical roll- secure with pins
• - Pull a few pieces out to make it very soft, feminine
• - Apply two jeweled hair pins on either side of the roll
• - Spray forceful 23 super strength finishing spray onto the front portion, making this portion very hard

At Nina Ricci it was all about classic decade- the sixties! “I was inspired by the 60s, actresses like Brigitte Bardot or a little like a woman in a David Hamilton photo who was very feminine and soft” explained Guido.

Achieve the look:

• - Damp hair and apply Redken aerate 08 bodifying cream-mousse to the crown and Redken velvet gelatine 07 cushioning blow dry gel to the mid-length through ends
• - Blow-dry to create lots of volume at the crown and bounce to the ends of hair
• - Create a two-inch center part
• - Pull the front pieces down and behind the ears
• - Secure with a bobby pin in back right at the occipital bone