Combining coiffure and couture

When L’oreal professionnel nad uber-stylist Nabila join hands, he results are mindblowing!.

Drawing analogies between hair and couture craft this summer season are L’Oréal Professionnel, the Parisian house of hairdressing, and leading stylist and L’Oréal Pakistan’s creative consultant Nabila. To celebrate its 100-year-plus collaboration with hairdressers, L’Oréal Professionnel brings to Pakistan a first-of-its-kind style show, ‘SOMPUTEUX’. The collection tells a wonderful story of the creation of textiles and exceptional fabrics while drawing parallels between haute couture and hairdressing.

“The collection draws inspiration from the rich heritage of craftsmen to create a collection that celebrates the link between couture and beautifully crafted hair. While the philosophy is the French haute couture, this event showcases the local interpretation of the same adapted for Pakistani women,” adds Sadia Shah, business unit manager for Professional Products Division, commenting on the collection. Since the brand’s central belief focuses on hair as the fashion accessory of today, worn to reflect the personality of an individual, it constitutes the central theme of the collection.

The very philosophy of ‘SOMPTUEUX’ is to renew the original link of art and artisan, material and maker. Nabila interprets this connection as presenting “hair as a source of inspiration for the hairdresser who uses different methods to create something beautiful just as a designer would do with fabric.” She adds: “Extensive research went into understanding the craft side of fabric and I was amazed at the similarity that goes into making fabric and hairdressing.”

Overall, the collection aims to pay tribute to hairdressers who work with hair as a material full of possibilities. “Working on this collection has been a learning experience — I had the opportunity to work closely with the art and design department at Indus Valley [School of Art and Architecture, Karachi] and that brought forward an amazing synergy and pollination of innovative ideas,” concludes Nabila, exuberantly recalling her experience.

Concept: Nabila
Wardrobe Designer: Zaheer Abbas
Photographer: Ayaz Anees
Hair & Make up: Creative team at N-Pro NABILA
Model Co-ordination: ZINC CastingRegards,
Images for: Hair couture/ Sumptuous L 'Oreal Professional
Models: Amina Ilyas, Saba Sikander, Sana Sarfaraz, Saima Azher, Manha and Areej Fatima

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, May 13^th, 2012.