Why Hat Hair Was A *Good* Thing At Dior’s Fall Show

Most people view hat hair as an annoyance. It's not the easiest task to get rid of all those unsightly dents and bends once you remove your of-the-moment bucket hat or beret. Well, most people aren't famed editorial hairstylist Guido Palau. Backstage at Dior Fall/Winter 2019 in Paris, France, the pro, who keyed the looks, didn't view hat hair as a challenge. In fact, he embraces it.

Most of the models who walked the show wore bucket hats with veils or stamped with Christian Dior's insignia, a nod to the London influence that shone throughout the collection (I mean, what's more British than trench coats and tartan?).

"The inspiration is really the silhouette," Palau tells a group of editors backstage. "When you’re wearing a hat, you have to decide whether you want it hanging down and being very casual, or pulled back. And while the British inspiration was evident in the attire, and the makeup was inspired by London gangs circa 1950 through 1960, Palau notes that it wasn't necessarily replicated in the hair. "Because Dior has a luxeness to it, the ponytail you can see behind the hat is being blow dried out," he says. "There is a streak of English, though."

Using Redken Frizz Dismiss Rebel Tame, he blow dried models until the hair was smooth. Then, he created an off-center part with his fingers, scooping the hair back into a ponytail at the nape of the neck. To cover the elastic, he took a tiny section of hair out of the ponytail length and wrapped it around the base, securing with Redken Forceful 23 for hold. Then using a medium barrel curling iron, he added additional texture to the look with loose, easy waves and a tiny bit of Triple Dry 15 for "a bit of realness," he says.

As for the models with natural hair, Palau left the curls "because it looks nice with the that," he says. "I like when natural girls look fierce and braided back. The look is a bit about personality as well, so we're emphasizing the natural."

For the girls with cornrows, stylists weren't necessarily precious about the number of braids that the girls got — it was all dependent on texture, one assistant told me. A little bit of Redken Water Wax 03 Texturizing Pomade was used for hold and to make the hair pliable for braiding, and Let's Jam Shining Conditioning Hair Gel with Extra Hold was applied to the edges for hold.

In terms of dealing with hat hair off of the runway, "you can't, really," Palau says. "It is what it is, depending on the amount of product you've got in it, and on how long you have the hat on. But really, I like hat hair. I like it when it’s stuck to your hair. That’s something I have replicated on the runway before, this sort of flatness. I don't really work around it or with it... I embrace it."

Shop some of the hero products from the look, ahead.