When I travel to London Fashion Week I’m always working for the duration, that means I’m on duty for five full days and nights and in turn that results ins an overpacked suitcase that I usually need to sit on in order to close. With that in mind, I need to meticulously plan every single item I take. I plan two outfits per day, one for working shows and presentations, the other for partying on an evening. Once I’ve done this, there’s little room for anything else.
I never, ever take any hair washing or styling equipment with me, not even so much as a hairbrush because space is precious and messy hair is cool. So, how do I manage to stay looking awesome? I always wash, tone and blowdry my hair the night before I travel, because I travel early, I get up and go, I don’t fiddle with it or restyle it, I literally get up and get out. I wear that hair for the next three days, however it is when I wake up is how it is for the rest of the day, if it rains I might throw it up into a messy bun but I’m more likely to wear it messy topped off with a tifler.
Day three is where the magic happens. I visit my favourite Notting Hill blowdry bar SHOW DRY who always look after me during Fashion Week and tend to my tresses. They wash and prep my hair using products from the SHOW BEAUTY range (seriously, it’s worth it for the fragrance alone) and I usually opt for some sort of braid to keep my hair off my face and switch up my look for the remainder of the schedule.
For the FW18 season day three brought with it hella bad weather. The first day of bad weather for the whole of show season in fact, I’d been to the Paul Costelloe show that morning and been puddle dumped by a truck as I left The Waldorf Hotel so arrived at the salon in a fresh set of clothes but with gross and very wet hair. After being greeted by Rihanna and given a bottle of San Pellegrino I felt decidedly less stressed. She took me down to the back wash area downstairs which is dark shades of grey and black accented with gold, exactly like the bottles the SHOW BEAUTY products are so beautifully packaged inside. We chatted about what sort of style I like, there have been some staffing changes at SHOW DRY so this is the first time Rihanna and I have met, I tell her that I’m an urban princess and “don’t want anything bridesmad-y or wedding guest-esque” she nods in agreement.
I usually plan exactly what I want in advance but this season’s schedule has been way too crazy to even remember my own name, so with that as her only brief, Rihanna gets to work blowdrying my over-processed hair. To be totally honest, I pay little attention to what my Stylist does when i’m at SHOW DRY, I know I’m in good hands, the Notting Hill salon seems to just get it right without forcing their own opinions about what you should do with your hair. For the duration of my appointment I sit and read the latest issue of Vogue on an iPad provided by the salon whilst they kindly charge my phone.
In 45 minutes I’m done. Washed, blowdried, waved and braided. In just 45 minutes my rain and puddle soaked hair has been transformed from resembling dull hessian curtains you might find in a nursing home, to bouncy FemBot-esque waves with twin split Dutch braids through the front. Winning. Despite leaving the salon looking freaking amazing, I hasten to add that it literally rained crazy heavy for the rest of the day. I threw on a Baker Boy hat and popped the collar of my faux fur coat (which hasn’t looked the same since) and went on my merry way.
Basically the moral of the story is, pack heavy, ditch the styling equipment, rock messy hair for part one, hand part two over to a superfly blowdry bar like SHOW DRY and basque in how easy you made it for yourself. Cheers SHOW DRY Notting Hill, same time next season.
Pixie xo
