Hair can define a look, embellish an outfit, show status, tribe or culture. Each hairstyle says something about who we are and where we belong, writes Laurent Philippon in his tome on high-fashion hairstyles, Hair: Fashion And Fantasy.
Hair: Fashion And Fantasy Laurent Philippon 320pp 1,250 baht ISBN 978-0-500-29108-5 Available at Asia Books
To Philippon, a hairstyle is not just something of aesthetic value; it can speak volumes about a person's sense of identity.
This book covers the evolution of different coiffures and hair designs over the years with separate sections devoted to braids, curls, loose hair, Mohawks, chignon, wigs, short hair and coloured hair.
In each section, the history and other information about each style is covered, the text copiously illustrated with photos. Models, actresses, singers and artists are all featured to bring various hair fashion to life. You'll find familiar faces here like Kate Moss, Dita Von Teese, Snoop Dogg and even Frida Kahlo, the Mexican painter best known for her distinctive self-portraits. However, household names are not the main attraction of this book; the attention is deflected to the hairstyles themselves, to designs created by famous stylists like Julien d'Ys, Sam McKnight and Philippon himself.
Despite its subtitle, this book is not written exclusively from the perspective of fashion. The facts imparted about each style and its historical significance are often quite enthralling. For example, did you know that the origin of the hair-curlers many women still use nowadays can be traced back to the time of ancient Egypt? The classical hair-curler was not so different from its modern counterpart. In that pre-electricity era, a metal tube or metal tongs were heated over a fire before being applied to a person's hair. While the advent of technology has now made everything much easier, the fundamental way of doing things has not been forsaken: it's still all about shaping hair by the strategic application of heat.
Another interesting aspect of this book is the fact that it does not shy away from nudity. The naked human body is regarded as just another form of art and in some of these pages it is used to accentuate the effect created by a model's hairstyle. The undeniable dexterity and skill of all the featured hairstylists and photographers add both flair and flavour to Philippon's masterly work.
Ona Munson in The Shanghai Gesture by Josef von Sternberg.
Daphne Guinness. Hair by Peter Gray.
Alicia Keys. Hair by Nikki Tucker.
Elin Skoghagen. Hair by Eugene Souleiman.
Dita Von Teese. Hair by Laurent Philippon.
Grace Jones. Hair by Laurent Philippon.
