Scene by Mikel Luzea

Haute couture hair
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Acclaimed stylist Mikel Luzea has brought us a haute couture hairstyles collection that harkens to the days of shoulder pads, trench coats, high-waisted and fitted skirts and heavily coiffed hair. This is hair Haute Couture. The styles are very structured, sleek and polished.
 
They are to be viewed as works of art, rather than your garden-variety up-style. This is hair as artist's medium and hair design as art form. In that regard, Mikel Luzea is a certifiable master.
 
Luzea claims influences for his collection from the 1920s through the 1950s, and centers on the theme of "perspectives" as the entire photo shoot takes place in the same staging area - which is, incidentally, the hotel room in Pamplona favored by Ernest Hemingway - and each photo merely brings one style to the foreground as that shot's protagonist while the others provide background until it is their turn in the limelight.
 
This collection was created as an entry for the AIPP Grand Trophy, a prestigious international accolade for which only 5 hairdressers were nominated.
 

Sweet-Roll Bun

Updo with a sweet-roll bun on the side of the head
 
The sharp lines and smooth curves of this up-style emphasize the asymmetry of the style. The sweet-roll bun on the right side of the head is complimented by the ribbon of hair curving around the skull to partly obscure the fringe with its razor-sharp edge apparent on the right-hand side.
 
The whole confection of hair is glazed by the glossy-smooth styling and finish. The effect is likely achieved through the use of wax-based hair products and smoothing serums which provide the sharp, clean moulding and glossy finish.
 

Bisected Swell of Hair

Partial up-style with a swell of hair in the crown area
 
Another structured, sculpted hairstyle. This time in sable. This partial up-style features a bisected swell of hair in the crown area, wrapped by wide bands of hair at the base of the swell. The wide, blunted fringe area - spanning ear to ear - is accentuated by a wavy ribbon of hair intended as a styling element.
 
From the lower crown area the hair falls into tight clusters of inward-turning curls. The styling is again clean and defined, while the finish is satiny and smooth, allowing for the maximum interplay of light on the hair.
 

Hairstyle with Angular Lines

Hairstyle with angular lines and a woven chignon
 
This completely asymmetrical style features elements intended to play with texture, structure and shape. From the pillbox-hat-shaped bun off-centered at the top of the head, to the smoothly styled angular lines of the sides, to the woven chignon at the nape of the neck, these elements combine to create another hairstyle-as-artwork design.
 
The finished look is striking, both for its dramatic silhouette, and for the interplay between the soft, smooth styling and straight lines and the sleek, glossy curves and controlled curls.
 

Romantic Long Curls

Seductive hair styling with romantic long curls
 
This look falls more closely into the realm of traditional style with a side-swept gathering and smooth curving sweeps of hair combined to enhance the fanning of the fall of long, even curls. The smooth finish and clean definition of the curls allows the hair to reflect and refract the light to maximize the glow of the color and bring more life to the style itself.
 
The hair color is rich and warm, while the curls are soft and romantic. The finished look is in and of itself a masterwork of subtle, seductive styling the likes of which any woman would envy and to which any man would respond.
 
Hair: Mikel Luzea
Styling: Beñat Yanci
Products: L'Oréal Professionnel
Photography: David Muñiz
Make-up: Alicia Nájera
 
See also: Long hairstyles | Up styles
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