The Coterie – going behind the image Creative HEAD Magazine

Speakers revealed the truth about the graft that goes into their final, seemingly perfect looks

Not every hair stylist does session work, but everyone can admire the glamour of the final result, whether it’s a runway show, major event, or shoot destined for a glossy front page.

But is the final image; the hair, makeup and outfit, the whole story? Not according to speakers at the recent Coterie, who drew back the curtain to reveal the inspirational, funny, and downright chaotic moments that go into creating their best work.

The final Coterie of the year took place at London’s Stā Studios, a new co-working space for creatives in the hair and beauty industry. Guests heard from session stars Halley Brisker, Laura Chadwick, Darcie Harvey and Adam Garland and had a glimpse into adjacent creative industries with fashion stylist Aimée Croysdill and make-up artist Czar Joshua Ventura. The evening, sponsored by JOICO, was filled with laughter and gasps of shock from the audience as the honest panel speakers revealed the sheer hard work that goes on beneath the glamour…

More feathers, please!

Nicola’s Met Gala look in progress (above)

Nicola’s wig (above)

Halley and Aimée created Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan’s look for her first Met Gala under the theme ‘Gilded Glamour’ in 2022. Aimée explained how there had been pressure to find an American designer for Nicola, but she didn’t find anyone who was right, until she discovered Irish designer Richard Quinn, who sent through “ten of the most amazing drawings,” then the team started to piece together design elements from the different looks. Afterwards, Aimée and Halley decided that feathers were needed to take things further. “I used micro rings which you would typically put extensions in with,” explained Halley. “So, I bought these and pliers, as that was the only way I could think of getting these feathers to do what I wanted them to do, which was stand up.”

To create the perfect hair, Jay (Jason) Hogan, a master colourist at Josh Wood, did a “beautiful root melt” on the wig, while Halley was up until 3am the night before The Met putting in extra extensions. For those dreaming of working at the iconic event, beware of the rival glam squads in your hotel, warned Aimée. “At one point there were so many glam squads trying to get in the lift that I decided to climb fourteen flights of stairs!” The best advice she received? Request the first floor for your client, as you will likely be running up and down the stairs many times!

Chicken wire and Catholicism

A shot taken from Patrick McDowell’s “Catholic Fairytales” collection (above)

Like Halley and Aimée, session stylist Laura Chadwick and make-up artist Czar Joshua Ventura find inspiration in each other and have enjoyed a fruitful career working as a pair.

Working on shoots with Sacrebleu! magazine led them to fashion designer Patrick McDowell, and more creative opportunities. They worked on set for his “Catholic Fairytales” collection, described by Czar as a “love letter to the queer community,” and a seminal moment for Patrick, who comes from a Catholic background and wanted to make a statement. One of the wigs (pictured above, left) took Laura “a while to figure out” and involved a lot of chicken wire and placing one wig on top of the other for volume. Before the shoot began, Czar practiced makeup looks on mannequins, which he placed outside his bedroom door to scare his mum!

Flower foraging on the first shoot

Darcie’s first-ever session collaboration, (above)

Darcie Harvey’s first session collaboration at eighteen came just one week into her apprenticeship. Now an established session figure, winner of the 2023 It List, The Editorial Stylist award and having styled England team lioness Chloe Kelly for the now iconic Grazia cover back in 2022, Darcie is happy to share how her rather chaotic first project got underway, a shoot with a photographer who lived next door to her mum at the time. “I couldn’t even blow dry as I had literally just started my apprenticeship that week,” she laughed. Darcie opted for braids instead and went foraging for flowers en-route to the shoot. “It ended up on the front cover of Dreamingless magazine, so that wasn’t bad going!”

Wet looks, widow’s peaks, and making a statement

A model from the Harri S/S24 show (above)

Alison Goldfrapp, Zara Larsson, Kendall Jenner – even Cher, session superstar Adam Garland has worked with them all. Praised by hair legend Sam McKnight for his cutting abilities, Adam is a stylist with the technical goods as well as a celebrity portfolio. For the recent S/S24 Harri show, Adam was given a brief of “sci-fi alien” and fulfilled it by diving deeper.

Keen to make a statement, and the presentation “a real moment,” he encouraged the makeup artist to create “wet” facial looks and even sent one model down the runway bald.

“I had one of my team, who makes wigs from scratch, putting individual hairs on the wigs the day before to make tiny widow’s peaks, it’s all about the detail,” he added.

And that was a wrap on The Coterie’s November 2023 outing– an evening of pure creativity, honesty and authenticity, roll on 2024!