The V&A’s Fashion in Motion shows make catwalk couture accessible to a wider audience. Elegantly set against the backdrop of the museum, the ongoing series of catwalk have spotlighted work from some of the greatest designers of our time. In the most recent event, the inaugural winner of Netflix’s Next In Fashion, Korea based designer Minju Kim, shared a glimpse into her joyful, bold style. In a cohesive symphony of youthful playfulness and avant-garde haute couture, Minju’s signature style delivered bold shapes complimented by feminine characteristics.  

In partnership with L’Oréal Professionnel Paris, the hair team was led by Andrea Daley, who created bespoke styles for each model. Inspired by macramé and Korean knots, the core look featured micro-braiding, knots and twisted detailing combined to give a little edge to girly styles.  

“The styles are adaptable for most hair lengths and textures,” says Andrea. “The ‘mix and match’ braids allow for multiple styles from one look and work as a perfect hair up for festivals too.” 

Get the look 

Step one: Prep the hair using L’Oréal Professionnel Paris TECNI.ART Pli to give a mailable texture without compromising on shine. 

Step two: Part the hair in the centre, from hairline to nape.  

Step three: Subdivide the back into four sections (top right finishing just above the ear, top left just to the middle of the ear). Ensure the partings are obviously asymmetric to recreate the look. 

Step four: Split the right-hand side into two ponytails. The top should be high, with the lower one secured at the nape to exaggerate the difference in balance.  

Step five: Now, twist the top ponytail into a short rope braid with the majority of the length left out.  

Step six: Plait the below ponytail and intertwine the length of the rope twist. 

Step seven: On the left-hand side, scalp braid from the hairline to the middle of the ear and then plait.  

Step eight: Then, braid the below section into a skinny plait. 

Step nine: In front of the ear and on the hairline, loosely release the baby hair using the palm of your hand for a softer edge.  

Step 10: Finally, smooth the tails of each braid and the loose hairlines using the L’Oréal Professionnel Paris Steampod for a glass-like finish. 

Kay Kwok is a Hong Kong fashion designer known for his futuristic and contemporary designs. He combines avant-garde fashion with digital influences to create an unconventional aesthetic, perfectly exampled by a 3D-printed custom-made art piece designed for Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour.

His first time working with Kay Kwok, this season Nick Irwin transported us to another planet with a futuristic hair look centred around the concept of hair barcoding. The idea behind the show was to tap into Kay’s references towards futurism, while also maintaining the individuality of each model. With this in mind, Nick and his team were able to craft an almost barcode-like effect using a gelled strip placed in certain areas of each model’s hair. 

The Session Label hero products

The Jelly
“We’ve set the hair with a great product called The Jelly, which gives you a glossy, almost plastic, futuristic feel with the finish. It’s a lightweight gel that you can comb and manipulate the hair with.”

The Coat
“The Coat is a super, super light shine spray. If you use lots of it and spray close to the head, it makes the hair super glossy. We’ve used that with a wide-tooth comb over the surface to a give an almost barcode-like feel to the hair.”

The Strong
“To make the hair hold in the area we’ve added the gel strip, we use The Strong – a super strong hold hairspray.” 

Find out more about Session Label from Schwarzkopf Professional