Be Inspired by Anthony Cress

Anthony Cress of Salon Gregoies, CA (and NAHA winner!) shares with us his inspiraton and how he created the looks for these avante-guarde, horned beauties.

INSPIRATION:

I got the inspiration for this shoot from the runways of Paris and London's spring collections. The hair and fashion industries go so hand in hand its scary, with hair having to keep up with fashion trends season to season. Working behind the chair and doing editorial fashion photoshoots, taking inspiration from runway makes total sense, because the transition is so seamless. But, in this case I wasn't looking at the hair. I was completely enthralled by the garments themselves.

The collection that really stood out above all the rest to me was Viktor & Rolf. What they did with those dresses was phenomenol!! I really wanted to translate what they did into hair. When it comes to doing more creative/avant-garde concepts, I typically get inspiration from movies, art, lifestyle/cultures, and nature. Pulling inspiration from whatever it may be, you run the risk of not making it your own and looking too much like the original. I feel like by using another medium, and adding a few little details I was able to make this collection my own.

EXECUTION:

Making the horns (for lack of a better term), I used an aluminum mesh sheet that you purchase by the roll. That stuff can be found at most hardware stores or a great art supply wherehouse store. This stuff is amazing to work with. I molded the aluminum pieces into the desired shape with my hands and wrapped them in hair. This took hours and hours of prep work before shoot day. So much prep work in fact, I had no time to do any trial runs with the afro wigs before the shoot (each model had atleast 4 wigs built up on her head). I had an idea of how I was going to secure multiple wigs on these models heads, but because I didn't get to do a run through, it all went completely out the window. Photoshoots NEVER go as according to plan. It was so much more exciting to figure out how to make this all work in that moment. I hate using this term, but it was such an organic process. Once the giant afros were built, I used a combination of straight shears and clippers to carve out the various shapes. This was by far the most fun part of the whole process, and just made it all come to life.