While Kim Kardashian might be grabbing headlines for her drastic black-to-bleach-blonde transformation, the rest of the fashion world's gone in the opposite direction. From new hues to faux dye jobs, the catwalks of Paris, Milan and New York were full of raven-beauties. Could it be that black is the new blonde?
While sun-kissed, balayage'd blonde (that's hair that's free-painted with dye rather than applied in foiled sections, FYI. Makes for a more natural, breezy look. Takes hours to put in) was the shade du jour for quite a few seasons, for Autumn/Winter this year, we're changing it up. At Chanel, Cara Delevingne paraded around the brasserie facade Karl and co created with a decidedly darker 'do. But this wasn't the work of hours in a salon chair - it was a scalp saturated with gel that gave Cara the appearance of having black hair. While the show obviously had a roster of naturally brunette and black haired girls, like Kendall Jenner, it was clear that Chanel had wanted to take all its girls over to the dark side.
Hair maestro Guido Paulo actually dyed the hair of handful of models at Alexander Wang to get the right depth of colour, and also championed the darker-haired girl at Sacai and Christopher Kane, using gel and wet-look sprays at the girls' roots to create the effect of darker hair. Whether it was done lightly (like at Christopher Kane) or with more of a heavy hand (like at Sacai), the impact was clear. Blonde is out, and more gothic, witchy dark hair is definitely in. While it makes sense for darker hair to be popular in the winter months, when it's less likely that hair would have any sun-kissed highlights (unless you're Poppy Delevingne, of course, and are surgically attached to a beach in the Maldives) it's refreshing to see the fashion world go for something more edgy.
Our advice? Play around with gel (we love all of L'Oreal Professionnel's tecni.Art Wet Domination range) and see if the hue's for you. By doing it with products rather than dye, there's no commitment, and it adds a sporty edge to your look. Expect to see sales of purple shampoo plummet come autumn...