Siriano and Beenders, A Match Made in Fashion and Hair Heaven

Christian Siriano presented his Fall/Winter 2011 Collection last evening at the Mercedes Benz tents at the opening night of New York Fashion Week.  As always, Christian invited Antoinette Beenders (and Aveda) to design and prepare the hair. This talents of this duo has proven, once again, to be the perfect marriage of hair and fashion.

Christian Siriano and Antoinette Beenders

I LOVED LOVED LOVED everything about this show. Backstage was a frenzy...but a happy frenzy. Skyscraper models were running around with long, thick braids waiting for Antoinette to finger comb them out to leave heavily textured, flat, dropped waves. It was fun watching her juggle late models, interviews and crowds. Meanwhile, Christian jogged around the cluttered backstage trying to avoid, well, me chasing him with my MODERN SALON TV microphone.

Aveda PR guru Tina Tuohy then handed over my seating assignment. FRONT ROW!!!! This is excellent for two very important reasons: better view (for my MODERN SALON TV video cam) and bragging rights. For those of you who don't understand the importance of this...front row is reserved for celebs and Vogue.

When the lights dropped and the music came up, Christian's fall and winter offerings emerged. One after another...FABULOUS. All dark yet textured,  all sophisticated yet interesting, all feminine yet strong, all tasteful yet bold. And ALL accented with long, soft, loose, crimps cascading from a center part. According to Antoinette, the collection was called "Black Orchid" and her hair designs were the "petals"!

It was an amazing ten minutes (typical for a fashion week show, after 3 hours of prep). Great fashion, great hair, great seat...and I still got home for 30 Rock!

HAIR STEP BY STEP BY ANTOINETTE BEENDERS FOR AVEDA:

1. Apply Aveda Damage Remedy Daily Hair Repair to damp hair to repair and protect from heat styling. Blow dry straight with a Mason Pearson brush.

2. Use a fine-tooth comb to create a center part, dividing the hair into two sides. Loosely braid each side and secure at the ends with elastics. Spray with Aveda Air Control Hair Spray for light hold.

3. Starting at the top of each braid, apply a few seconds of gentle pressure with a flatiron. Section by section, move slowly down so that the entirety of each braid has been pressed.

4. Gently pinch the sides of each braid between the thumb and forefinger and tug gently to loosen.

5. Remove the elastics and use fingers to loosen the curl. To create a soft wave, brush lightly with a Mason Pearson brush and set the look with Aveda Control Force Firm Hold Hair Spray.

Christian Siriano and Models