New 'Do: Runway Hair Trends for Fall

Wispy locks, sporadic braids falling through, elegant chignons bundled at the neck, and ponytails collected with jeweled accessories; the hairstyles coming down the runway for fall 2011 scream softly, as they loosely fall in refined manners.

More achievable than ever, fall hairdos take simple tools for anyone to emulate, but call for refreshing standards so there is no confusion between strategic locks and your hungover hot mess look. The model’s tresses call upon street-style, undone chic, and directed messes. Pulling on tactics of surprise, many designers stretching from Marc Jacobs to Rag & Bones added casual braids, small glimmers of gold, and unexpected twists to enhance the mussed and disheveled hairs of this season.

Discover three new hair styles straight from the fall runway.

Ponytails

This season’s runways were power-walked with pulled-back ponies. What was once the lazy girl’s go-to style is now a fashion-forward look, spotted in the Dies Van Noten fall 2011 show (pictured), the Vera Wang Fall show, and the Marc Jacobs fall campaign. This isn’t your regular gym ponytail of manic Mondays, though. Tame the beast by starting with a Bumble and Bumble Prep spray, working it through the hair until saturated. After blow drying, gather at the nape of the neck, plucking out some strands for the wispy and haphazard looks of the runway. To take your pony to the next level, use gold clasps, or pin the base of the ponytail under itself to enhance the silhouette. Although some designers went for glossy ponytails such as Versus and Louis Vuitton, the more popular trend this season showed up in Proenza Schouler and Alexander Wang shows as barely hanging on looks, left loose and realistically undone for soft texture.

Stop into… Detour Salon: The Encinitas salon can easily turn any bland hair day into a styled-up success. The stylists at Detour are interested in what’s on the cutting-edge of fashion, as well as standard services in highlights, cuts, extensions, waxing, nails and facials. Stop into Detour to get your locks updated with the latest fall styles and trends.

Hidden and Loose Braids

We’ve seen them fluttering around in past fashion seasons, but this fall the braids are back in refreshed ways, softly poking through the manes of the runways. Hair in the Rag & Bone’s Guido Palau show (pictured) was mostly mussed, with sporadic braids peeking out. The slightly undone braided look is easily able to be replicated without much structure beyond the techniques you learned in grade school. Don’t pull braids too tight, but let pieces wisp out and hang loose around their face. To create the look, you can chose to incorporate braids in any normal or disheveled hair. For the Rag & Bone’s technique, collect two sections of the hair and loosely braid at the ends, while allowing top layers to float casually above. Or, take a single section out of hair (more accessible option for the ladies with shorter locks) and braid in loose movements, securing with a clear band. Rachel Roy’s fall 2011 runway show displayed braids in a more polished manner, adding structure with the pattern braids create for a pristine touch.

Stop into… MODA Hair Design: Located in Hillcrest, MODA gives an upscale experience with the down-to-earth nurturing of the creative team of stylists. Offering cuts, color, and treatments, the professionals also style for hair shows, television, photo shoots, and special events.

Bundled into Chignons

Chignons were spotted all over the Chanel, Dolce & Gabana (pictured), and YSL fall 2011 runways, taking a major spotlight in the hair action. Like the ponytails we saw projected down the runways, the chignons span from soft and undone to sleek and shellacked. Stella McCartney had a ready-to-wear look that can easily be created with a small amount of product applied to the hair to give texture and hair collected into a low bun, securing with a few pins but left undone. The overall structure can easily be updated with a few key accessories and optional sparkly stones. The Dolce & Gabana collection divided hair into two sections, pinning the top half to the back of the head and the lower half tucked into a low chignon, loose at the nape of the neck. Chignon’s are essentially buns twisted and crafted elegantly at the nape of the neck, so as long as you have a few pins handy, this look is accessible and convenient for any woman on the go. It might feel a little messy, but the end results are nothing less than elegant.

Stop into… Diesel Salon to access the pros with years of experience in hair education. Their dedicated focus on what’s next in hair trends serves customers in a professional and accommodating environment. Stylists help customers achieve a variety of looks, from spunky to spruced up. Come in to Diesel, located both in Kensington and in La Jolla to achieve your perfect cut and color for fall, while gaining additional insight into ways to style on the daily.

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