Friday 26 February 2010

The beehive buzz

You can always trust Miuccia Prada to kick-start a trend and at the A/W'10 Prada show in Milan, she did just that. Sending her models down the catwalk sporting 1960's-esque beehives, Miss Prada has resurrected a classic style that has taken on many different guises in recent years.


We're not talking about the Amy Winehouse bouffant (as far as I am concerned, she's carrying round a bird's nest on her head and probably a lot more to boot) or the vertiginous up-do of Marge Simpson (she's a cartoon for god's sake), this is the real McCoy. Miuccia Prada has brought back the genuine article that first entered the spotlight in the late 1950's and early 1960's, thanks to glam, old school icons such as Dusty Springfield:

Dusty Springfield

Adding a slight Naughties twist with a knitted band and a lot more smoothing hairspray, Prada's coiffeurs ended up with this:

 Prada A/W'10

I am totally, 100% in love with this look! It's perfect for day or night, not just the red carpet (its normal play ground). But seriously, could we ever create this look ourselves? It looks bloody difficult and with just one pair of hands...er, how?! Well, always dedicated to the cause, Miss Magpie thought she'd give it a whirl. Here's what happened:


What do you think? Not bad, even if I say so myself!! However, it did take a whole morning (Miss Magpie does not accept failure well) and I had to enlist the help of another pair of hands. I reckon it's a case of practise making perfect...good job we've got at least 6 months before the A/W'10 trends go live.

If you'd like to look like a Prada model, here's how:

1. You'll need a hair brush, a backcombing comb and a hell of a lot of pins 
2. Start by brushing the top section of your hair forward and work down to the ear on both sides, brushing the hair forward.
3. Next, start taking sections of the hair from your crown and backcomb with firm movements from the tip down to the base of the hair. Work all the way through your hair.
4. Then gather up the back-brushed hair and start moulding it round to create height and gather up at the base to support the beehive at the front. Secure with pins to keep the hair in place.
5. Start smoothing and pulling the front sections loosely round the backcombed hair to give it a more polished finish. Secure these sections at the back wth more pins.
6. Keep it all in place with lashings of strong hold hairspray. I recommend L'Oreal Elnett - there's nothing it won't hold and smells amazing (I think I might be hooked on it)!

The alternative, of course, is to just pop down to your hairdresser...

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