Evaluation

During the research process of the Elizabethan era, I noted elements that intrigued and inspired me the most to bring forward into my designs. When it came to incorporating these elements onto contemporary hairstyle images, I developed a very different insight into the design process and I adopted a different thought process when it comes to gathering inspiration and creating designs.

All of the designs I created, I went on to trial in order to assess their feasibility. Trialling each design also gave me an insight into how long they took to create, the technical ability involved and whether they best fit the brief, giving a perfect balance of Elizabethan and contemporary. All of these elements helped me decide on my final design, also taking into account the fact that this design would be carried out by my partner, therefore I would have to provide thorough instructions on how to create the style. Also, it was during the practise process that I got to make slight adjustments and arrange advanced preparations to save time.

The technical sessions were immensely helpful and meant I could expand my designs to include new techniques that could provide texture, shape and volume. I do however feel I could have improved my designs by increasing my creativity and exploring the use of different materials in my hair designs.

When it came to interpreting my partner’s design, I initially thought it would be difficult. However, being able to practise the style and discuss it with my partner and teachers gave me much more confidence. 

My Assessment

I followed Corey’s design plans accordingly to create her hair design. Though the style did resemble her design plans, I was stretched for time and would have spent some time perfecting the shape had I’d had longer to work on it. I should have used more pins to secure the rats too as the bottom section was looser than I’d have liked.

Here are the images from the assessment.  

Partner's Design

Corey provided me with a design plan and method of how to create her hair design. To create Corey’s design, I had to crimp her entire head of hair as well as some additional hair extensions. I gripped these extensions throughout her hair and then sectioned her hair horizontally into two parts. Using hair rats/props, these two sections were rolled around them and secured with pins to create raised areas in the hair. The fringe was then styled into a plait and feathers and gems were added for decoration.

Originally Corey had opted for the bottom section of the hair to be styled into a bun however after some trial runs and a discussion with our teacher, Lottie, it was suggested that we include a second padded roll instead. Corey then amended her design for this technique to be included in the final assessment. 

Here are images from my practise.

Hair Assessment

During a practical session, my assessment partner, Corey, trialled my hair design on me. I was able to talk Corey through my design to ensure she understood it fully. It was during this session that we concluded that I would curl my hair prior to the assessment to save time. We also decided that a larger rat/prop would be used in my hair to achieve a look more similar to my design.

During the final assessment, Corey followed my hair plan accordingly to create my hair design. She worked efficiently and professionally to achieve the look in the allocated time frame and in conclusion, it did resemble the design I’d created. 

Here are the images from the final assessment. 

Final Design Method

These are the instructions I gave to my assessment partner, Corey, to work from. 

Equipment & Products:

• ·        Pintail comb
• ·        Curling tongs
• ·        Sectioning grips
• ·        Hair grips & Wavy pins
• ·        Rat/Prop
• ·        Orange coloured hairspray
• ·        Length of red ribbon
• ·        Hairspray

Method:

• ·        The hair has been curled in advance and these curls have been fixed with hairspray
• ·        Section into three parts
  - the front section is separated in line with the ears
  - the remaining hair is separated horizontally but bottom heavy (middle section is enough hair to wrap around a rat)
• ·        Wrap the middle section of hair backwards around the provided rat and grip securely
• ·        Spray the very ends of the hair with the orange hairspray
• ·        Style the back section up and over the rat to create a band of curls along the crease, securing with wavy pins
• ·        Style the front sections back and around, following the style of the back section but disguising any of the rat that is still visible, leave a few loose strands around the hairline
• ·        Use hairspray to secure the style
• ·        Tie the length of ribbon around the head into a bow on the left hand side of the models head

Final Design

Though my intent was to choose my third design as my final design. I encountered too many flaws during the experimenting period and I realised the style wasn’t achievable in the time frame. Therefore, I adapted the style slightly to make it more accessible.

To create my final design, the whole head is curled using curling tongs and then sectioned into 3 parts. The front section ends behind the ears and then the remaining hair is separated horizontally into even parts. The middle section is wrapped forwards over a rat and secured with hair grips. The ends of the back section are styled upwards, over the rat and pinned under the rat leaving a band of curled ends. The front section is then bought around the sides and secured beneath the rat with a few loose strands. Finally, a length of red ribbon is tied as a band in front of the curls and styled into a bow on the left hand side of the head. The entire look is fixed with hairspray.

To save time, I will curl my hair in advance and fix the curls with hairspray. In order to carry out the design, ribbon and orange hairspray are required which I’ve already sourced from a local fancy dress shop.

Design 3

My third design involves the use of a ‘rat’ like they used in Elizabethan times. I wasn’t sure how I was going to achieve this look but after a practical session where we were introduced to using ‘rats’ in the hair, I was inspired. To create this style, the entire head of hair is curled using curling tongs and then the back of the hair is bought forward over the rat and secured discreetly. The ends of hair will create a band of curls which can be styled against the raised portion of hair.

Design 2

As previously trialled and blogged about, my second design was inspired by the Elizabethan fashion to style their hair up. In this design, two French plaits line the hairline with ribbon intertwined. The ends of the plaits are wound back up over the head and then the excess ribbon is knotted into a bow at the nape of the neck. The rest of the hair is heated around large barrel hair curlers and fixed into four large pin curls in a grid formation.

Design 1

My first design was inspired by the texture of hair that Elizabethan’s preferred. To create this style, the hair is frizzed and then scraped back into a ponytail which is then plaited. The frizz would be achieved by wrapping small sections of hair in a figure of 8 around a wide hair grip and then heating under hair straighteners. This method is very time consuming and considering the time frame we have to style the hair, it would not be feasible to frizz the entire head of hair. Therefore as a time saving compromise, I would frizz only the front band of hair and dress the frizz back over the hair to give the illusion that the frizz runs all the way through the hair.