Tagged as one of the top shows to attend this AAFW, Daniel Avakian drew an eclectic crowd of cool kids, influencers and media to his tech-heavy show at Carriageworks, with hair powered by the week’s official Hair Partner, Redken.

The designer’s AW22 presentation kicked off with future footage of what will, one day, be the Daniel Avakian boutique in Sydney CBD’s luxury shopping strip. The futuristic theme continued with a Blade Runner inspired collection leaning into cutting edge tailoring and bold hues of letterbox red, cobalt blue, acid green and Avakian’s signature graffiti print.

Hair was led by official hair partner Redken and no stranger to backstage, Richard Kavanagh and team. The cast was long and consisted of male and female talent pushing hair design into multiple directions, yet with one clear hero to take home.

“This girl is a little bit 40s and a little bit 80s, and she’s very much sci-fi. We’re creating this super narrow shape to the head and hitting it with high shine for that galactic feel … the finish is almost as if she’s styled the look herself … and she’s ready for action, she’s stylised but she’s ready to fight. She’s tough, she’s dangerous … she’s prepped to battle for the future,” explains Richard of the character he was briefed to create.

The squared-off height through the back delivered an angular nod to the eighties while a croissant twist at the front harked back to the 40s rockabilly era. The height was built starting with a small pony and padding at the crown (for a strong base) to build over.

“Working with Redken Guts to create a foundation, we’re directional blow-drying the hair up and folding it over …  kind of using traditional hair up techniques, old school 70s and 80s foundations to achieve this look today,” he says.

The real magic appeared upon conclusion, with Redken Forceful 23 doused all over the head (in tight proximity), moulding and shaping hair before our eyes. The addition of directional blow-dry heat effectively ‘set’ the spray/hair into place, materialising an epic, wet yet lived-in finish you’d expect from space-bound creatures.

For the talent without length to play with, Mila Jovovich in Fifth Element vibes came into play with high-shine bobs and bangs glistening down the runway.

For further information, please visit redken.com.au or follow the brand on Instagram, here.

If this is what the future looks like, we’re here for it.