Four cities, eight days, fifty-two models—and a lot of looks.
The Tour is about breaking the mold and subverting expectations in every way, especially when it comes to hair. “We wanted to create something really fresh, and beautiful, and completely unexpected,” says hair superstar Jawara, who VS tapped to create the multitude of looks. “No stereotypes allowed.” And absolutely no traditional bodacious “Angel” coifs. “The hair was designed to match the clothes, the sets, the unique vibe each city had in the film.” Here’s how Jawara and his team created the iconic looks behind the special.
VS Vixens: New-gen Bombshell
“To go with all the beautiful corsets and crystals of this look, we really leaned into the concept of big, ‘runway’ hair—then we destroyed it,” he says. First the hair was coated throughout with TIGI thickening spray then a 1 ½ inch curling iron was used to create loose curls all over. We then brushed it out with a Mason Pearson, then spritzed liberally with a sea salt and water mix that Jawara and his team mixed up themselves and used on almost every look in the tour. “To me, this really embodied the new idea of what bombshell hair is,” says Jawara. “Bouncy and curly, wild and free. Lots of different textures, all at once. It’s joyful and alive.”
London: Slick and Liquid
“For this one the performance was in this space with lots of water, so we went for a look that was wet and super-shiny, mirroring that liquid sensation,” says Jawara. “The key was to keep hair looking lush and styled, not just ‘wet.’” To achieve just that hair was slicked with loads of water, salt water and thickening spray, and, for textured hair a touch of regular conditioner was mixed in to help keep the hair moist. “Throughout the day, we just kept adding water and salt spray and thickening spray,” he says.
Lagos: Braided and Sculptural
“For these looks we did beautiful, braided hair ‘sculptures’ that went with the highly accessorized looks,” says Jawara. “They really pushed boundaries and they were my favorite to create.” Hair was blown dry to a super smooth, straight finish before lots of synthetic braids were woven in for extra length to “sculpt” with. Each model got their own unique braided sculpture, constructed by manipulating and pinning the braids, while using lots of oil and shine spray throughout to make the hair really reflective. To keep everything anchored, Jawara tucked slender French hair pins all over and was generous with the Got2B gel.
Tokyo: Wild Texture
“This look was big, fluffy and wild,” says Jawara. “At first glance it might seem similar to bombshell hair, but whereas that look was smoothed out, for Tokyo it was wiry—like you’d been living in the in the wilderness for years.” Every model got extensions—lots of them!—as a foundation for the extreme back-combing effect. Hair was prepped with TIGI Bedhead Queen for a Day Thickening Spray, blown dry up and out, then backcombed at the root, teasing up at least a few inches from the scalp. “You ‘lock in’ that tease by running a flat iron over the back-combed section,” says Jawara. “It seems counterintuitive, but the combination of teasing and flat iron creates that great height and crimp you see on the models. And it stays all day.”
Bogota: Glimmering Waves
“This look was inspired by 1930s sirens, with swooping, precise waves that fell over one eye,” says Jawara. “We created deep side parts, sprayed TIGI Bed Head Queen for a Day throughout, then sea salt spray and olive oil spray onto hair for that unique, almost sparkling glimmer and shine.” On naturally curly hair, this helped bring out the wave, and for straight hair curls were set using a big round brush and the Dyson blow dryer.