I can't remember the last time I wore a piece of jewellery [1]. Or used a hair accessory that isn't the £3 claw clip I picked up at the pharmacy along with my prescription and a bottle of hand sanitiser. My lockdown life has been severely lacking any sort of shine or sparkle, which is one of the reasons I think I'm so riveted by the gorgeous hair combs and romantic waves hairstylist Sam McKnight [2] created for Fendi's spring 2021 couture show [3]. Oh, and also because it's just a seriously beautiful look.
Fendi's spring 2021 couture show marks designer Kim Jones's first womenswear collection for the brand, a darkly romantic offering full of dramatic capes, elegant bell sleeves, and embellishment in the form of pearls, crystal beads, organza rosettes, and embroidered wildflowers. According to to Vogue [4], the collection was inspired by the Fendi archives combined with Jones's fascination with the Bloomsbury Set. This includes Virginia Woolf's novel Orlando, the protagonist of which jumps between time periods and genders, themes reflected in the show's casting that featured women and men and models of all ages and generations. The runway was truly a family affair; in addition to models like Naomi Campbell [5], Bella Hadid, and Cara Delevingne, we saw Kate Moss [6] and daughter Lila, Demi Moore and daughter Scout Willis [7], Christy Turlington and nephew James, and sisters Adwoa and Kesewa Aboah.
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The stunning hairstyle was also used to echo the collection's various themes, which is why you saw many of the models, regardless of gender, with the same soft fingerwaves swooping across their foreheads — created by using "L'Oréal Professionnel TecniArt Full Volume Mousse [10] (£10) with lashings of Hair by Sam McKnight Modern Hairspray [11] (£22)," McKnight told POPSUGAR. Looking at "the spirit of the Bloomsbury set," McKnight described the style as "rain-soaked hair bejewelled with Venetian glass hair combs by Delfina Delettrez." The idea was that the hair had once been twisted up into some sort of romantic updo, only to get wet in a thunderstorm and fall out, and the effect was achieved once again by using McKnight's Modern Hairspray as well as the Moroccan Oil Treatment Light [12] (£33). And yes, you read that correctly: the hair accessories were actual pieces of delicately blown Venetian glass adhered to combs that McKnight slide into to the hair.
With life feeling rather drab right now, and my hair products collecting dust, this hairstyle and the dreamy accessories are the beauty equivalent of tucking into a good novel that can transport you to another place and time. Keep reading to see photos of the look to see what I mean.
