Kenneth Stoddart

And so we bid adieu to RAFW for another year with Bowie closing the show — but stay tuned, for on Monday we'll start bringing you all trends, tips and top products from the week. But back to Bowie who ended things on a high (and wide) note thanks to mane man Kenneth Stoddart and his couture creations. Inspired by the silhouette of Bowie's collection, he created two hair shapes — one a high, conical look, the second, super wide. Both featured crimping and teasing, before he piled on product — MoroccanOil Hydrating Styling Cream, followed by the brand's Luminous Hairspray, which Kenneth then "dried," using the heat of the hairdryer to create "shell-like" hair. He told us that Bowie's collection featured lots of white dresses, so they wanted to avoid looking bridal, purposely avoiding "neat" hairstyles, in favour of a "tougher" look. The makeup was inspired by Japanese origami and featured lots of "big, bold red" makeup said Shannon Earls, who led the SLA team,

• Makeup: Shannon Earls for SLA
• Look: Couture with a Japanese edge
• Colours: Red
• Key products: SLA Cherry Red Gloss, Natural Purpose Lipstick in 37
• Hair: Kenneth Stoddart for MoroccanOil

Day 3 of RAFW just kicked off with Lisa Ho and backstage we chatted with the hair and makeup teams. Lead hairstylist Kenneth Stoddart said he was inspired by the "1950s and '60s cut of the capri pants" in Lisa's collection and referenced Roman Holiday and Tippi Hedren in The Birds when talking about the heavily-backcombed look he created. To keep things modern, he turned to Redken's Forceful 23, which he used to saturate models hair to give that "modern, shell-like" finish, and to add further coolness, he'll tease the front to make it look "almost torn" so it looks more youthful, instead of too womanly. Head makeup artist Linda Jefferyes was also inspired by the '60s, giving models a heavy brow, brushing them up before filling them in. Skin was fresh and there were touches of silver on the eye, cheek and bow of the lip, topped off by mascara on the upper lash line.

• Makeup: Linda Jefferyes for MAC
• Look: 1960s
• Colours: Nudes, peach, touches of silver
• Key products: Luna Cream Colour Base, Cream D'Nude Lipstick
• Hair: Kenneth Stoddart for Redken
• Nails: OPI Samoan Sands

I'm the odd one out of my girlfriends because I don't sleep with my hair tied up. It's uncomfy. End of. Heaps of people do do it, but some are scared in case it damages the hair. I checked in with Richard Kavanagh and co. to double check:

A) The main concern when tying your hair up, whether sleeping or staying awake is using a good quality hair elastic. If you use rubber, you can cause friction breakage and damage to the cuticle layer of the hair. The other thing to keep in mind is the possibility of tension alopecia or hair loss caused by pulling the hair too tight for too long. Other than that, there's no real problem with sleeping with your hair tied up; it can be a great shortcut to getting a bit of bend in the hair.

DO: Go to bed with a low, loose ponytail if you want to wake up knot-free — Maria Ardino

DON'T: Tie in the centre of your head. "Tying at the top of the head" is best, according to Kenneth Stoddart as this "doesn't disturb your sleep."

DO: Use it as a shortcut. "A bit of Satinwear 02 ($27) and a bun it up is a great way for soft waves," says Todd Arndt. Alternatively Richard recommends "going to bed with rags tied in your hair after spraying it with Style Connection Wool Shake 08 ($36.95)" for "a great curl with a beautiful texture."

Stockists: Redken (1300 650 170)

Even though the model line-up at Kate Sylvester was female, there were two looks: boys and girls. Kenneth Stoddart, Redken Hair Director, explained that it was all about "extremities and polaristaion: long/short, boys/girls." For the 'boy' style, he created a low side part and used Redken Stand Tough to slick back the hair on the hair line and pull it into a low knot at the base of the neck. The knot wasn't the focus and it was flattened as much as possible, it was really all about how the hair looked at the front.

The 'girl' style on the other hand was all about "long, fine hair" that was inspired by the billowing curtains that provide the backdrop for the runway. There's a "floaty, soft wave" put in and most models had extensions added for length. To take out any unwanted thickness, Kenneth and co created a "braided undercut" that started a couple of inches out from the ear and sat about 1.5 inches below the crown and two inches above the nape of the neck. The hair then fell over the top of this disguising it—very clever and not something I'd seen before. Apart from that it was an easy style to create, using Guts Volumising Mousse. The part was clean and the hair was blow-dried back and pinned back behind the ear to set in place. A 1.5 inch barrel tong was used to create a random loose kink throughout. Which is your favourite style?

For the past two seasons, Lisa Ho's models have worn their hair out so it was time for a change. Redken Hair Director, Kenneth Stoddart styled models' manes to match the feminine elegance of the clothes. The "flower-pot style," as Kenneth called it was womanly, elegant and sculptural—a nod to the venue for the collection: the Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney.

Kenneth said "she's a woman who gets her hair done every week," and even though the style is 'old-fashioned' it's given a modern edge in the way that products are used: the gel through the hairline, and Forceful Lacquer to toughen up and modernise the style. If you're thinking of trying this at home, think again. The style was created using false hair pieces that were prepped with mousse and thickening spray before being set on rollers, cooled, brushed out and then added to the models hair. Prep time for the 28 false ponytails took 5-6 hours alone! The wet-look style is a great summer look according to Kenneth, but it doesn't really translate too well to the colder months so keep it on the backburner for now.

Moving on to makeup . . .