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The Ikebana Collection

 

Hair: Aquage Artists Ann Bray, Eric Fisher, Lala Todorovic and Chris Vandehey
Photography: Luis Alvarez for Aquage
Make-up: Wanda Alvarez and Thomas Smalley
Fashion styling: Patric Chauvez
Products: Uplifting Foam, Molding Mega-Gel, Working Spray, Finishing Spray, Beyond Body and Beyond Shine, all by Aquage

Ikebana is a disciplined art form in which blooms, branches, leaves and stems are constructed to emphasize shape, line and form.

In Japan, many schools still teach and hand down the ancient art form. Similarly, the Ikebana Collection by the Aquage team was cultivated through a mentoring program between master hairdressers Ann Bray and Eric Fisher and emerging Aquage artists Lala Todorovic and Chris Vandehey.

Together they learned the most elaborate Ikebana arrangements were given specific Rikka names based on key branches and positions (think “ballet”). Each design in the Aquage Ikebana Collection is inspired by and labeled to match a Rikka position.

Leaves, flowers, stems and geometric forms were created with exaggerated versions of Aquage artists’ trademark elegant finishing and styling techniques. Key products from the Aquage toolbox were used on wefts to sculpt the intricate pieces.

Aquage Working Spray was used to thermally form the shapes. Aquage Defining Gel was used to unite strands. Finishing Spray was used on all styles for hold and control, while Beyond Shine gives each creation a glossy laminate finish.

Each element in these delicate, floral-inspired styles was constructed and designed to achieve perfect balance and proportion. The individual pieces come together to create a united total look. The collection was photographed on location at America’s Beauty Show and at the Aquage MasterClass Academy. To learn more, visit aquage.com.

Related:

Behind the Cover: May 2012

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