AT THE COVER
Hair: Luis Alvarez for Aquage
Photography: Luis Alvarez for Aquage
Hair tech: Lauren Reminick
Make-up: Wanda Alvarez
Fashion styling: Patric Chauvez
Location: Aquage Academy, aquage.com
Luis Alvarez is a superstitious guy. “I don’t usually wish to go backwards,” he explains. “When all of the buzz in regards to the movie revival of The good Gatsby started, I resisted. I didn’t desire to do a retro story. I always encourage my Aquage Artistic team and the complete stylists we educate and collaborate with to maintain looking and moving forward.”
But Alvaraz admits that he loved the 2013 movie and had “known Fitzgerald’s story forever.” What he really enjoyed, however, was how director Baz Luhrmann juxtaposed modern and futuristic elements—like Jay-Z’s rap music into the score— with the classic novel’s tale of excess, fantasy, illusion.
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He started rethinking how he would interpret Gatsby style right into a photo shoot. When the chance arose to do a vacation collection for contemporary and partners CosmoProf and Armstrong McCall, he knew the timing was right. He would dedicate a session of the August 2013 Aquage Academy in Cleveland to crafting a vacation vision of Gatsby to inspire stylists working through their busiest time of year. He was committed, however, to looking firmly forward, even “futuristic.” And he would balance the intense excess theme of Gatsby with the intense discipline of working with only two styling tools—a flatiron and Aquage Working Spray. The result’s the “GATSB 3000” collection, featured at the cover and beginning on page 48.
“I said, if we’re going to go way obtainable with the hair, let’s use only 1 product. Working Spray is extremely utilitarian. We would have liked to expose what happens if you max out what you do with it day-to-day for your salon. It’s great practice for any professional. Crucial thing is to provide yourself control.”
While the designs are beautifully avant garde, they’re all rooted in classic shapes tied to the Gatsby era and creative influences, and so they all represent the shopper hair trends and thermal styling techniques that Alvarez calls “textural transformation.”
The cover look is a classic bob taken to a thermal extreme, with futuristic, flatironed edge. The gathering looks also channel the Art Deco combination of heterosexual and curved lines, diamond patterns and overlapping layers, in addition to Alvarez’s interpretation of French/Asian influences accented with heavy bangs and bobbed shapes.
To maintain opulent, extreme and future themes, he used a silver fashion palette, marrying $6,000 Gucci couture gowns with $40 jewelry from Top Shop.
One thing Alvarez isn’t superstitious about is sharing his ideas and his influences.
“I’m blessed with having always had a network of people that have helped me curate a definite aesthetic in art, fashion, music, design—you name it. I’ve always passed along what I’ve discovered to my team members, to stylists who come to our education.”
Alvarez is now using social media to expand that network much more (search and prefer “Luis Alvarez, Aquage Co-Founder” on Facebook.)
“People who’re secure of their art form always share and reveal their sources. Per week, I’ll be posting something that inspires artistry and ultimately our craft as hairdress¬ers,” he promises. “We’ll keep looking forward.”