In her own words, Alice McCall designs “dresses for girls to have a great time in. To celebrate. To have fun.” This sentiment of a guaranteed ‘good time’ charged a show full of punched-up florals, sorbet pastels and hyped-up hues of fuchsia and lime. But in order to have fun this time around, McCall looked to the past. Reinventing old-wold fabrications like Chantilly lace and doily tablecloths, McCall made it modern. A pleat here. A drape there. It was ‘beyond pretty’; it was punchy and powerful and most importantly, fun.

For Renya Xydis, Creative Director Wella Professionals ANZ and hair director for the show, it was important to echo this sentiment. Also taking a glance backwards, Xydis referenced the elegant glamour of the ’40s, but toughed it up for this irreverent McCall girl, a kind of fierce forties. “I wanted to create a style that embodied the Alice McCall girl, but still captured the bold confidence that filtered through Alice’s striking collection. We created ’40s-inspired twists that – instead of sitting pretty – sat up tall, strong, slick and structured the face to give our Alice McCall girl her fierce, yet still beautiful, feminine look,” Xydis mused backstage.

Part cool-girl, part elegant; it was beautiful hair with attitude, at every twist and turn.

Get the look
1. Prep the hair with EIMI Perfect Setting, spritzing mid-lengths to ends
2. Apply EIMI Ocean Spritz at the crown to add texture and root lift to the back section
3. Diffuse hair with the Dyson Supersonic hair dryer diffuser attachment from the crown down to create natural movement without ‘blasting’ the roots
4. Use a large styling iron to build ‘cool girl’ texture by flattening the ends in big sections
5. Using EIMI Perfect Me, skip the hair to give a natural healthy flow, and hydrate the ends. Work the hair lightly to keep the look ‘aired’
6. Using a toothcomb, section the hair into three parts – from the crown back to behind the ears – clip these away
7. Plait the remaining hair at the back of the head to maintain a ‘tousled’ look for the bulk of the hair
8. Taking your first side section up above the head, apply EIMI Stay Styled liberally and, brush in an upwards direction towards the middle part, holding with one hand – until ‘slick’
9. Twist the section tightly towards the middle parting and secure with a ‘Mary-Jane’ slide. Be sure that the twists sit ‘square’ on top of the head 10. Using a soft brush, gently skim the hairline and twists to create ‘soft’ texture around the head, for that ‘cool-girl’ tousled look
11. Finish with EIMI Glam Mist for added shine