(Hair)
The Easiest Way To Do Fishtail Braids, Courtesy Of NYFW
There are few looks more intimidating than a fishtail braid hairstyle. There are so many pieces! So much weaving! So much criss-crossing! But at New York Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2020, hairstylists are taking on the challenge by eliminating fussiness from the process.
At Ulla Johnson on Feb. 8 (above), Bob Recine for Bumble and bumble. was inspired by the designer's intricate designs and weavings. "So of course we're not going to do a regular braid!" he tells TZR backstage. "We're not doing a nice ponytail first... we're just kind of going at it so it's still kind of loose at the nape of the neck." The key here was not to overdo anything — in fact, they wanted to incorporate all of the little flyaways to make the look more realistic. "There's nothing perfect about beauty," Recine says. "The best styling tool of the season, for me, is confidence." Of course, the brand's Curl Conditioning Mousse and Strong Finish Firm Hold Hairspray helped, too.
And over at Rebecca Minkoff on Feb. 8, TRESemmé Global Stylist Justine Marjan also embraced the spirit of variation. "It's very '70s," she describes backstage. "On some of the girls, we're doing random fishtails throughout. Some of them, we're doing half-up." Because there were lots of children in the show, Marjan didn't want the looks to be too contrived — according to her backstage notes, "we wanted the braids... to feel disheveled and imperfect, as if models didn't fuss too much with it or it was slept on." The brand's new Dry Texture Finishing Spray. Another trick was in the tools, she explains.
"We added a wave before we braided using the GHD Curve 1.25" Soft Curl Iron so the hair won't be too silky, and sealed everything in with Compressed Micro Mist: Level 4 Extend Hair Spray."
