Virology - the study of viruses – submicroscopic, parasitic particles of genetic material contained in a protein coat.
There is always something about the natural world that no amount of synthesis can replicate, a beauty beyond what man, woman or machine can design. Let's move in a little closer, let's get under the skin, let me take to a microscopic level well beyond what the human eye is capable of. In that magnification we see a sometimes unexpected beauty, even horror.
The concept of The Virology Collection came from the idea that we can find something beautiful in anything if we are prepared to look close enough, so why not look into something people fear, like illness?
There are no crowds, no fad, no "this seasons"... whatever... Just a new found beauty and even horror as an applied aesthetic to hair fashion.
The Virology Collection also explores the potential of sustainability within the craft of hair, 100% of the hair used in this collection was sourced from our own salon floors at Stevie English Hair. I think recycling a human product like hair can have a similarly repulsive effect on people as trying to find beauty in a parasite or virus, and I enjoyed this subversion.
I am very proud to have our clients literally as part of my collection, and it becomes something they can be proud of too.
This collection was also shot as you see it today, you see what we saw- there is zero retouching because we believe that what we shot was that good. This also fits well with my idea that nature is the ultimate design, and best left untampered.
