Bobby makes a comeback
COLOGNE: The new darling among women is Bob. Former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham has fallen for him and in the spring, a lot of fashion-conscious women will most certainly follow suit.
Bob in this case is not a man, but the classic bob haircut, which is making a comeback. Accurate cuts and styles that have a geometric look inspired by haircuts popular in the 1920s and 1960s also are trendy. Men's hairstyles, meanwhile, are reminiscent of the 1980s.
The new look is flat and glossy, said Stefanie Koehn of the association of German hairstylists and barbers. Compact cuts are displacing soft, fringed cuts. "Exact cuts are coming at the expense of playful elements," according to Germany's central association of barbers in Cologne.
The new interpretations of the bob are not as strict as they initially appear. Precision is always combined with a soft structure, the association says.
"The contours are in fact often very geometric," said hair fashion journalist Simone Frieb of Cologne. "The cut itself is, however, flexible and very, very versatile."
Frieb said hairstyles currently are shifting between two poles.
"On one side are the classic feminine looks that are long and lustrous. On the other side are androgynous looks," she said, adding that such extreme short hairstyles are ideal in combination with classically cut pantsuits.
Martina Acht, a world champion hairstylist from Offenbach, also sees hairstyles moving in two directions. A natural look with long layers contrasts with geometric cuts in which "hair color greatly comes into play".
The favorite is the bob.
"Bobs are the height of current style. Victoria Beckham is the best example of that," said Acht. Smooth, round and chin-length, a traditional bob curves around the side of the head. There are new versions in which the front is cut in a mushroom shape and the back remains long.
Koehn said current variations employ vastly asymmetric and undercut sections of hair. Bangs are also in the mix, although Frieb said they are not per se the fashion statement.
Bangs, however, are an indispensable part of men's current hairstyles. Men who want to be stylish are having their hair done like the musicians of the 80s band Duran Duran.
"Provocative and very masculine" is how the central association of barbers characterizes the new looks.
"Longer hair is clearly in style for men," said hairdresser Jens Dagne.
The new rock star style uses long layers and asymmetrically cut bangs. The hair is then twirled, worked over with a straightening iron and kneaded. Occasionally, it's then slickened with a gel.
DPA
(China Daily 04/06/2007 page19)
