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A hair part seems so innocuous. A white strip of scalp (usually sun-starved and extra milky), whose only great purpose in life is to serve the hair’s natural – or unnatural divide. And yet, hairstylist Sam McKnight sees some kind of beauty in it. A not-so-great divide for some, for McKnight, it’s a playground of untapped hair creativity. At last season’s Dries Van Noten show, McKnight took to the unremarkable area with a smattering of sparkling crystals. Yesterday, McKnight again found some kind of marvel in it. Taking to both part and hairline with a single Ostrich feather – which he dyed in crayon colour to match the collection’s palette – it was placed delicately along the thin white line, as hair was slicked into deep-side parted ponytails. A subtle stroke of genius, it was one which resonated with Van Noten’s collection; full of rainbow colour, tactile trimmings and of course, feathers – plumed and prismatic.
“At Dries Van Noten, we created partings and side sweeps accented with single ostrich feathers dyed in the same colours as the featured clothes, earrings and mascara. A simple, clean but strong idea, almost invisible, but just enough definition to catch the eye,” McKnight noted backstage. Elegant and refined, the feather seemed introverted next to the neon mascara – chunky, spidery and goopy – and was a peaceful offset to the showiness of said lash (care of Peter Phillips).
“Each feather was finely glued in place with eyelash glue and Modern Hairspray,” he added. An unsung hero, eyelash glue is secretly what binds the beauty world together; a multi-purpose product that cures all beauty ills, and one which the entire hair look relied on.
The trend of hair part adornment is, however, not confined to McKnight’s handiwork and the Van Noten shows of past and present. In London, Markus Lupfer’s girls walked with bedazzled parts; strategic strips of diamantés which twinkled joyously in the fleeting moments of sashay.
As Fashion Month makes a strong case for fancy parting, the question remains: is part adornment the new hair accessory?
Tile and cover image: Credit: Instagram, @hairbysammcknight
