We’re basking in the afterglow of a trip to the Davines Village in Parma which was nourishment indeed – feeding the Tribu-te soul with creativity, calm and community in equal measure. Attending the World Wide Hair Tour (a gathering of hairdressers from the global Davines community), we were treated to an insight into the work and workings of the Davines team based in Italy – where all the product innovation and product takes place – and a fiesta of shows and seminars. This was our opportunity to share the specific charisma of this family-owned brand which eschews all sense of the expected, all notions of ordinary, and simply does what’s needed to care for hairdressing practically and spiritually.
Davines Village
Over the next few days we will be sharing interviews and comment on the Davines story. But first, the visual, the inventive and the inspirational…
Davines: On show
Delegates from more than 54 countries were treated to a programme of short-form and long-form shows. Here is our pick for you to enjoy:
Tom Connell is the Davines Hair Art Director and the visionary driving the looks for the brand. His first big show since taking up his role (now based in Italy) was titled Digital Safari. A journey into Tom’s mind he wanted to share the story of how he finds inspiration for his hair work. “I want to show you the why, not just the how,” he noted. The swirling, symmetrical lines of a Zen garden, a nostalgic exhibit by Wales Bonner, a colourful asymmetrical dress, and a brief encounter on the London metro system were transformed into fascinating looks.
In the looks, we can point you to various inspirations that are visually apparent… The movement of a Japanese rake in the sand was translated onto a model’s face using hair. Taking three long strands that matched the subtle root shade of the model, Tom swirled artwork onto the cheek, neck, and around the eye.
His second look featured chromatic wefts that were wound from the back of the models’ heads, around the top, and fashioned into thick headbands, matching their dresses.
For his third, hair magically became an accessory yet again. A woman caught in a rainstorm that he saw on the London Tube served as his muse. He dyed the back of his model’s head a hue that he deemed “Emergency Red,” leaving the front jet black.
It was compelling and exciting. As a finale, Tom’s assistants rolled two water tanks onto the stage and the audience watched as Tom dyed the wigs live, turning them a coppery orange and lavender in under two minutes. He promptly towel-dried, styled, and trimmed them, presenting two final looks—one inspired by Roman armour and another that was a whimsical but approachable take on colour. After putting his scissors down, an enormous round of applause erupted. We were enchanted!
Allilon as a brand of education is part of the DNA at Davines! Headed by Jonny and Pedro, the team is tight-knit, sharing precision hairdressing and expansive creativity.
For their show they presented two themes: restriction and independence. While being dramatically different concepts, they found a unifying theme in a person: Kyriacos Hadjikyriacou, an iconic pleater who provided the concept for this mesmerising show. Hadjikyriacou crafts elaborate heritage pleats and folds and has been doing so for 40 years, and inspired the work we saw on stage. Each was utterly different from another, but equally each one related back to the resulting shapes of his work in some way. Browse the pictures to make up your mind?
Short-form presentations
From the UK, Ashleigh Hodges stepped out for her first solo show called SIMPLICITY OF NUANCES. We loved the clever focus on the nuances of colour – Ashleigh showed 4 groups of colour – 4 models in each. The groups of models that filed onto the stage had subtly different variations of the same hues, including sleek purple ponytails and bold orange A-line cuts. Her finale included a reference to her own buzz cut. Clever and well executed, we loved it.
Anne Veck followed with her presentation SECRET GLADES. This was Anne at her most playful and inventive – drawing on her deep experience of avant-garde and show work, she brought energy and whimsy to the show. Ethereal braids and sleek layers were contrasted against futuristic cuts and styles with the colour blue as a running theme throughout. Fantastical.
So much to take on board! In the next few days we’ll be posting interviews with key players for Davines – so check back for information soon.
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