Causal Cool

The KMS California Global Style Council, a group of top stylists, artists and innovators, met in London last fall to define style trends for 2016. The theme is innovation: innovative artists, innovative products and innovative stylings, with the focus on the rethinking of classic looks.

“Natural hair styling is one of the main trends for the future,” John Moroney, VP and creative director, KAO Salon Division, Global, told MODERN during the six-day session held at the Spring Studios, the glam multi-purpose creative center in the heart of industrial west Kentish Town just north of the city center. “In this, the 40th anniversary for KMS California, the 2016 campaign is paving the way for a new era of casual-cool looks which are easy to style and yet achieve maximum effect.”

The team of Simon Miller, Lori Panarello, Sonna Brado, Sam Burnett and Robert Mrosek, created multiple looks on each of the models who were then enhanced by editorial stylist Halley Brisker, makeup artist Lucy Burt and stylist Julia Sarr-Jamois. The looks were captured by fashion and lifestyle photographer Nick Dorey and the Scorch London production company.

“We are celebrating 40 years of amazing product technology, as well as the artists who bring KMS California to life,” Panarello says. “Our focus is on individuality. This campaign takes it a step further. The trend is definitely all about natural, lived-in, easy hair. We created styles that are cut to support that finished look. The hair is cut to lay where it lives naturally in the shape—almost seamless. We’re essentially putting down our tools and using the right products, a brush and our hands, to let that natural texture and shape happen.”

For Miller it’s all about avoiding any unnecessary brushes or tools so you see the impact the right cutting techniques and product choices have on the final creation. “Trends are nice to have as a starting point, but in reality the combination of the artist’s vision and the client’s lifestyle is the best way to create something new and unique,” he says. “That’s when you move from dictating a life to truly being a part of it.”

When asked how these looks can benefit the salon professional, Brado says: “This campaign is made up of wonderful, consumer-friendly looks. These are the cuts and the finishes that clients are seeing in current fashion magazines and on the runways. Each look has two styling techniques to give the beauty professional an opportunity to educate the client on how to recreate the looks at home. These are the styles clients are looking for right now.”

After the session, Moroney had a chance to reflect on collaboration: “This was a great shoot for KMS California. It was an opportunity for these five creative stylists to create looks that reflect what’s really going on at street level. This is authentic style.”

Hair: KMS California Global Style Council
Photography: Nick Dorey
Makeup: Lucy Burt
Fashion styling: Julia Sarr-Jamois