Red Heads and Royalty

Red Heads and Royalty is the name of my first project at Southampton Solent for the Fundamentals of Hair and Postiche.  The aim of this project is to develop and produce a contemporary Elizabethan hair and make-up look within an allotted time of an hour and a half (45 minutes for hair, and 45 minutes for make-up), taking the Elizabethan era and making it more relatable to people living now in the 21st century.

Throughout the project we will be researching and learning about the Elizabethans, their iconic hairstyles and how they achieved this.  Through our research we will be looking at portraiture from the era, and how they composed their hair in order to reflect who they were and what their social hierarchy was.  We will also be learning how to recreate some of these traditional styles, in order to then take some of these techniques forward into our final designs.

We will also be looking at some contemporary versions of Elizabethan hair that may inspire us for our own work.  Finally we will be creating three contemporary Elizabethan hairstyles, of which we will choose one for another person to then create upon ourselves.

My initial reaction to the project brief was to look at up dos, as the Elizabethans rarely wore their hair down, and how I could modernise them.  Also, because I have ombred hair, I feel that that is quite a contemporary twist, so maybe a more Elizabethan hairstyle would suit.  We shall find out in the weeks to come, once I have researched and learnt a lot more about the Elizabethan era.

I am excited to begin this project and get stuck into learning.  I am looking forward to developing my ideas through research and developing my techniques to become a better hair stylist.