HERITAGE

Photography: Andrew O’toole

Styled: Melissa Nixon 

Although I now consider Australia home, I was born and raised in Edinburgh, Scotland. During a trip home last year to visit family, I took time to explore my country outside of Edinburgh, the city I grew up in. Returning made me realise and appreciate how beautiful and old Scotland is, with all the historic castles, which forever retain their beauty.

Returning to Australia, I wanted to create a collection that was as warm and inviting as I feel when I go home - a little ironic in contrast to the cold temperatures there. Still, it was important to me that I incorporated iconic haircuts with a contemporary twist creating something innovative and original. With this in mind, I took a lot of my inspiration from architecture, in particular buildings that were historic with modern additions. I wanted to have classic components whilst reflecting the modern male. This led to the name ‘Heritage’ for my collection.

Being brought up by parents who both had careers in the fashion industry, I’ve got a lot of passion for this. I wanted my collection to look expensive and luxurious and be of a high fashion standard. Also I wanted any image to look like it could be a magazine cover. The styling was crucial. It was as important as the hair to really create the entire story and embody the theme. I wanted to incorporate tartan, which is traditionally worn in Scotland, with a contemporary twist to create a high fashion feel. Mel, my stylist, worked her magic sourcing pieces that drew from the past but were new shapes and styles. We had looks for each model set out before the shoot. On the day we ended up layering a lot more and mixing tartans to bring more depth to each look. In the majority of the images, model’s bodies can be seen therefore styling embodies theme as much as hair does.

The lighting was crucial. I wanted to capture the warmth and rich colour palette that inspired me. When I thought of the word heritage it made me think of candle-lit backdrops and flames. Andrew, my photographer, and I agreed warm lighting and background would work best.