NYFW How to: Alexander Wang Fall/Winter 13, hair by Guido for Redken

The stellar hair looks that Redken Global Styling Director Guido has created for designer Alexander Wang in the past has been quite polarising. Often saturated with product and a little severe, it has been great for bringing Wang’s vision to life on the runway, but hasn’t been all that wearable for us out there in the ‘real way’.

That all changed this Fall/Winter collection though, when Guido created a shiny, two-toned ponytail for the Fall 2013 Alexander Wang show that was dramatic but also user-friendly. Its sleek lines complemented the modern fur and leather filled collection, and worked perfectly both on it's own and under the mohair hoods that some of the models wore down the runway. 

 "The almost fakeness of this look is part of the appeal,” said Guido, “it's very cosmetic, and you see the complete vision when you see how it works with the clothes. There's an extreme difference in colour from the crown and the ponytail, and the colour of the extensions,” which Guido aptly named ‘Cognac’. This colour was based on the shade currently sported by of one of his new favourite models, Irena Kravchenko. 

“By pulling the hair all back in such an extreme way you're almost taking away the girls' personalities in a sense,” he continued, explaining “it really unifies them and looks almost clone-like and very futuristic when they're all together. It's very exposing, and while many women don't often pull their hair back this dramatically, it's amazing how elegant it can look and how effective it can be as a dramatic look for a night out."

To get the look:

* Start with hair blow-dried straight, then wet the crown and apply a generous amount of hardwear 16 super strong gel throughout the area.

* After applying the gel, comb the crown straight back for a clean, sleek shape with no part and pull into a very low ponytail at the base of the neck.

* Pull a thick section of the ponytail and wrap around the elastic (this was also where Guido attached hair extensions at the show, and he wrapped a section of the hair extensions around the elastic.)

* Flatiron the entire ponytail in sections until stick straight.

* Finally, emulsify Diamond Oil Shatterproof Shine Intense in your palms and apply all over the crown of the head for extra shine.

Expert tip: Guido used Diamond Oil Shatterproof Shine Intense on all models to create a super wet, slick look for dramatic effect on the runway. Diamond Oil Shatterproof Shine Intense is for thick hair, whilst Diamond Oil Shatterproof Shine is for medium hair textures.