January's Cover Shoot: Mod Squad

Imagine London in the late 1960s—Mary Quant and her geometric bob, Savile Row in Mayfair known for its bespoke tailoring for men, girls sporting Twiggy haircuts and two rows of false lashes. Now imagine Hollywood in the early 1970s—glamorous, disaffected youth; pool parties in the Hollywood Hills; Steve McQueen as police lieutenant Frank Bullitt sporting a custom fast-draw shoulder holster while chasing bad guys through the streets of San Francisco in his 1968 Ford Mustang GT 2+2 Fastback. That’s what ColorProof founder Jim Markham and International Creative Director Phillip Wilson had in mind when they joined forces to create our cover story this month.

Photography: Nicolas Troncin; Makeup: Amy Richardson   

Recently, Pall Mall Barbers in London posted a story online offering suggestions for duplicating Steve McQueen's haircut. Their assessment? " Steve McQueen obviously had a very good barber." We couldn't agree more because that barber was Jim Markam, who worked with nearly every male icon in Hollywood in the early 1970s, from McQueen to Paul Newman.
Brigitte Bardot's signature beehive is reimagined to evoke the glamour and sophistication of Hollywood in the 1970s. The addition of a simple black headband gives it a modern twist. Hair ws rigorously backcombed on top and in the crown to create a bouffant shape. ColorProof AllAround Color Protect Working Hairspray made it easy to rework the style until the proportions were just right, while HardCore Epic Hold Color Protect Hairspray locked everything in place. WickedGood Weightless Shin Spray provided the incredible sheen that just wasn't possible in the 1960s.
Jim Markham's cardinal rule for cutting a man's hair is to frame the face. "Most hairdressers are taught to cut the hair even all over, and that's the wrong thing to do," says Markham, who took five inches off the top, cutting the hair straight across, and four inches off the sides, which he cut vertically, leaving the head with a perfectly framed shape. "We try to emphasize the good features and de-emphasize the bad." To duplicate this style, which Markham created for Steve McQueen in Bullitt, work a bit of ColorProof PowerSculpt Hard Hold Gel into the hair and finish with WickedGood Weightless Shine Spray and HumidityRx Anti-Frizz Weatherproof Spray.
To create an updated version of Mary Quant's iconic bob, Phillip Wilson cut the hair with no tension, following the natural fall line so hair has lots of movement, lighting grazing the jawline. The look: very loose, very smooth, very elegant and only moderately angular.
"This was Twiggy's great look," says Phillip Wilson, who cut the hair using twin combs at the sides, which "gives you phenomenal precision and softness all in one run." Jason Pella, a hairdresser working in Knightsbridge, London, in the 1960s was famous for this look, which Wilson describes as a long front carved around the ears blended into a moderately heavy back. What's different? A liberal application of ColorProof WickedGood Weightless Shine Spray to give the hair incredible sheen and control. "Twiggy's hair did not have this kind of shine," Wilson says. "It was a matte look."
Think Amy Adams in American Hustle- a little bit uptown girl, a little bit disco diva in springy curls with volume to spare. To recreate that vibe, TruCurl Anti-Frizz Oil was worked into the hair, which was set on foam perm rods that were twisted clockwise, then counterclockwise. After gently releasing the rods, the curls were finger-combed to create gentle waves, which were held lightly in place with AllAround Color Protect Working Hairspray. The big finish: WickedGood Weightless Shine Spray.