At this year’s Intercoiffure Atelier event, held at New York City’s Waldorf Astoria, high-level salon owners from North America met up to observe new trends in hair design and beauty, with events sponsored by Wella, Kérastase, V76 and more. American Salon Associate Editor Corie Hengst had the opportunity to catch up with celebrity hairstylist Orlando Pita, who gave a behind-the-scenes look at the hairstyles he created for Carolina Herrera’s recent runway shows.
Corie Hengst: What’s the inspiration behind the looks we will see today?
Orlando Pita: The looks will be from the Carolina Herrera shows, which are the last two shows I’ve done: Spring/Summer 2015 and Autumn/Winter 2014. I’ve chosen these two looks, which are both updos, because I think they’re very difficult in construction, while the end result looks streamlined. I thought it would be good for hairdressers to have a look, and inspire them to think of their own wacky ways to build something because, in a way, what we do can be very architectural. And there are no rules to creativity.
CH: What do you want people to take away from these looks?
OP: It would be nice if hairdressers walked away thinking about how they can construct hairdos, because basically that’s what I do. I'm self-taught. I've never worked with anybody. I've never assisted anybody, so when Carolina [Herrera] calls me and says, ‘Think of a hairstyle for this look,’ I have to walk away and start thinking of an end result and start thinking of a step-by-step of how to get there. And that’s my thought process. I’m trying to inspire people to think outside of the regular things that a client will ask for, which are things they've already seen in a magazine or on a celebrity. They bring in a photograph. And sometimes it's really exciting to present something to somebody that they feel is original for them.
CH: What is your creative process like?
OP: I try to always, always make a little mark somewhere, especially this Fall/Winter 2014. A lot of the designers wanted real hair, like a real woman would wear. For Giambattista Valli I did this little braid that went along the part. I just tried to do little things because if not, I get bored. And I know the women in my salon know that I do all the fashion magazines so they want different things. They don’t want to look just like everybody else. I have to think outside the box, and I have to think of forecasting looks that I might think would work next season. Your hair is never going to be the same as the next woman, so I would approach the process differently with each person, and I would use different products.