The standout men’s grooming looks that shaped the S/S 2017 season
Prada: Continuing the travel theme from last season, Prada’s models trudged the runway with bulging backpacks, stuffed with clothes, boots and assorted trinkets. To evoke their long journeys and heavy burdens, artists at Prada used bronzer along the cheekbones, brushed brows upwards and kept the skin dewy. Gel was used throughout the hair, which was finished with coloured headbands. Tendrils were then pulled through to evoke a sweaty brow
Writer: Alice Shaughnessy; Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Craig Green: The Londoner’s spring collection was initially based around the ’Scout’ scarf, resulting in garments that wrapped the body like tarpaulins, held together with rope. The models that sported this highly constructed clothing wore their hair in a tousled, youthful way, evoking boys out camping, looking for adventure with their troupes. Brows were brushed upward and skin left with a natural glow – two key indicators of youth
Givenchy: Riccardo Tisci’s collections are often dark, gothic and ornate, and this is also true for the beauty looks. But for this men’s show, it was a much more stripped back affair; hair was heavily slicked down with plenty of gel to emphasise the ’darkness’. Then to introduce ‘light’, other models had their shorn hair bleached and paired with matching brows
Salvatore Ferragamo: Though it’s always a popular theme for the summer collections, the spirit of travel was at the forefront for the design team at Ferragamo. With so many places to go and people to see, the Ferragamo man has little time for grooming – favouring totally bare skin and hair free from any real fuss
Jil Sander: Perhaps unsurprisingly at this famously purist brand, stylists bucked the trend for naturally textured hair in favour of a sleek and heavily gelled look, with a sharp side parting. However, in spite of this precision, brows were untouched and slightly messy, while skin was finished matte
Matthew Miller: The designer’s S/S 2017 collection paired slouchy tailoring with punk detailing, and these dual influences were translated into the show’s grooming look. Make-up artists used Vaseline to highlight the high points of the face, producing a glowing, almost sweaty look. Conversely, product was used to mattify the hair and take away any shine, giving it an almost greasy, texturised appearance
Dries Van Noten: The Belgian spoke of this collection as a new challenge: looking at fabrics, shapes and volume to find a fresh way to embellish. That said, the grooming look at his shows never tries to compete, only complement. Romantic curls echoed the Arts and Crafts influence, while an orange eye shadow offered a subtle but slightly jarring touch of colour to the face
AMI: Alexandre Mattiussi’s collections are often a love letter to Paris, and the men and women who live there. While much has been made of the infamous ‘French Girl Hair’ – a deliberately undone style – this grooming look may have been an interpretation for the boys. In fact, it looked as if the models barely wore any product either in their hair or on their skin – it was all natural, fresh and very French
Topman: Revellers from this summer’s festival circuit would not have looked out of place at the Topman show. Creative director Gordon Richardson wanted the models to look like they’d been partying all day and had fallen asleep on the beach. Artists dusted a reddish blush across the bridge of the nose, the cheeks and around the hairline to create a sun burnt effect. Hair was laden with gel and then tousled to bring back the natural texture
Canali: This season’s timeless look was focused on translating Canali’s heritage into a more unstructured elegance. Freshly washed and dried hair was smoothed with a little product to frame the face. Skin was matte but not powdery, with a touch of balm used on the lips to highlight the models’ youthful fullness
Diesel Black Gold: Despite being known for denim and utility inspired clothing, Diesel had a more focused, sharper tailored silhouette this season. That said, this is still a brand skewed towards youth, hence the glowing skin and casual hair styling, with each model given a look that worked with their hair’s natural texture. If long and straight, it was brushed away from the face. Short and choppy styles were volumised with product
Dior Homme: Contrast is an important part of Kris Van Assche’s collection for Dior Homme. While incorporating the precise tailoring that the house is known for, he has never been shy of introducing a directional, sporty or punk element. For S/S 2017, models may have worn tailored shirts buttoned up to the neck, but their hair was artfully messy, their skin glowing as if they’d been up all night at the legendary Haçienda club
Ann Demeulemeester: Love, and how our body chemistry changes with these feelings, was a key theme at Ann Demeulemeester, as evidenced by the declaration ‘I am red with love’, emblazoned across one model’s chest. This notion was interpreted by the grooming team via tousled bed head hair and by emphasising the natural colour of each boy’s lips with a matte pink balm
Haider Ackermann: Though there is a very distinct Haider Ackermann style, the designer is not concerned about having a uniformed look on the runway. Models were allowed to show off their tattoos and individuality – so a singular grooming look took a backseat. Hair and brows were gelled back, while skin was left completely bare
Juun.J: Thus far, hair trends have fallen into two distinct camps – either sleek and slicked back, or easy, with a natural texture. At Juun.J stylists did neither, creating braids pulled from sections of hair randomly, and in varying lengths and thicknesses. The beauty look was natural, save for a little blush on the cheeks and gloss on the eyelids
Kolor: At Kolor, the hair look fell into the natural and textured camp but with a ‘wet look’ effect. As the collection was inspired by travel, the grooming look was a toned down version of the one seen earlier at Prada. It also called to mind campers who were washing their hair on-the-go, topped with a healthy glow from the great outdoors, via a subtle wash of bronzer dusted all over the face
Louis Vuitton: Another designer who is unafraid of bringing an element of punk to one of the world’s best-known luxury goods houses is Kim Jones. There was a touch of rebellion here, with shaved heads and messy, lived-in textures for longer hair. Then to bring some life back to the face, there was a touch of bronzer on the cheeks and some balm on the lips
Paul Smith: The starting point for Sir Paul’s S/S collection was late nights spent in London’s Soho at the height of the swinging Sixties. As with those at Topman and Dior Homme, models at Paul Smith looked like they had been out dancing all night, with slightly shiny skin and a touch of stubble. No make-up was used to cover up dark circles and hair was untouched and completely natural
Rick Owens: The American offered the most extreme example of the slicked back trend. Here hair was gelled and pulled so far from the scalp that it ‘swooshed’ upwards as if caught in a wind tunnel. The ends of the hair were then pulled apart to introduce more texture. Brows were similarly brushed up, and some gloss used on the lips to bring shine to an otherwise matte face
Thom Browne: With the theme of a grayscale beach, it certainly takes a designer as creative as Thom Browne to bring this twisted concept to life, as were the two beauty looks conceived to augment his vision. In both, the hair was combed into a sharp centre parting and then gelled down and tucked around the ears. So far, so simple. Some models were given a natural look – just enough bronzer to mimic a suntan. Others wore the opposite, a heavy white paint, which covered the entire face, minus the upper eyelids and a thick black line across the neck