Rockabilly Do’s on the Runway

Rockabilly Do’s on the Runway

Guest post by Elana Kluner

Malandrino’s 2009 Spring Summer and Fall Winter lines captured the romance of Manhattan and the elegance of Paris.

The models for the Spring Summer line were sassy and confident with a seriously sexy look in their eyes. The designs were edgy pinks, creams, and golds with intricate detailing. In the Fall Winter line, the models carried a solemn attitude down the runway to match the clothes’ quieter colors; blacks, grays, navys with the occasional pink. Although both lines could speak for themselves, what really put the spice back into the whole show were the model’s hairdos. The hair stylists created a rockabilly inspired look to really add that cherry on top.

Elle Magazine featured Malandrino’s 2009 designs along with photographs from the fashion show. The extravagant rockabilly hairdo’s laid on the heads of models from a wide variety of ethnicities. Although in the 40’s, the rockabilly hairdo’s were most commonly shown on Caucasian ethnicities like Lucile Ball, the modernized version of it looks just as terrific on any skin color. When Lucile Ball wore this hair style in her stunning red locks, it gave her a clean and polished look while flattering her graceful feminine features. When the Malandrino models had their hair done like this, they had all the same qualities as Ball but with a little bit more of a modern edge.

Some could call this rockabilly inspired hairstyle a classier couture Mohawk. When Lucile Ball’s hair was done up, she would curl the bang area of her hair outwards all the way until it touched her forehead. She then would pin it in a U-shape with the bottom of the U laying on her hairline and the rest of it traveling up the crown of her head. This would

create a frame for the other separated curls that filled in the center of the U. The left over hair on the sides would then be slicked back and pinned to combined with the hair in the back of the head that was still left hanging. Ball would then curl those locks and pin them up to show of her lovely neck and fabulous earrings

The Malandrino models reinvented this look by giving it their own flare to emphasize the one of a kind style that they were dressed in. The rockabilly hairstyle looks chic and accentuates the models shimmery cheek bones. Similar to Lucile Ball’s, the hairstyle was created by taking the hair and rolling it up until it can not roll anymore. Instead of the U-shape being created on top of the head, these models hair were curled up from the side of the head so the center of the curl faces the front. This almost looks like a cinnamon bun is standing sideways on the girls’ hairlines. The sides are still slicked back, staying true to the original do, and the back is pinned up as well. Lucile Ball would be proud to know that her rockabilly do has been passed down to the next generation and strutted down Malandrino’s runway.