One Teaspoon collection at Rosemount Australian Fashion Week May 2008; hair by Philip Barwick for Redken.
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It seems like dreadlocks have been on an extended holiday in the world of high fashion.
The hair perennial is always lurking on the streets of Jamaica, in weekend markets or on the outer reaches of the music world, but it seldom enters into the domain of the stylish woman.
Hot at Fashion Week
At Rosemount Australian Fashion Week however, stylist Philip Barwick gave dreads a buff and polish and hit a jarring but resonating note. Did this radically chic hippy hit the mark or was she still a touch too Nimbin?
This time, it worked.
Barwick kept the hair gleaming and controlled, with no traces of mud or minute life dwelling within.
It worked because of the clean hairline and the total lack or grot factor. What was at first glance dreads was, upon closer inspection, clever artistry that added another layer to the designer's look.
Slow go overseas
Overseas on the runways of New York, London and Paris, there is little sign of the truly dreaded locks.
At Nina Ricci, there was mildly tortured hair, still glossy and lustrous, with helical coils and ruching like Barwick's babes and, at Anne Demeulemeester, dry and seperated hair had the grunge factor without the grit. Over at Dior, just tons of hair, back-combed to beyond - but nothing that looked too much like a dreadlock anywhere.
So this no-go zone hasn't managed to shake it's bad image just yet.
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