Following on from his 2016 collection celebrating his affinity with the Japanese design aesthetic, Craig Smith’s 2017 collection Revisionism turns its retrospective gaze to the iconic and the thorny subject of the cautious revival of an icon.
Taking as his starting point six cult looks: flicks, braids, a Sassoon cut, the fringe the mullet and Rockabilly, Smith’s aim was to transpose the originals and bring them into a present day setting with a more accessible approach.
“Revivals in hair and fashion happen all the time,” says Smith, “but invariably they are just the same old thing rehashed. We wanted to allude to these original iconic styles and pay homage to them by making them feel completely fresh, but without going down the road of directly and too obviously referencing them.”
Beauty with an edge is something that Smith has become known for in his career and nowhere is it more evident than in this collection. The girls have a fragility and an innocence to them which is diametrically opposed to their cool-girl hair which on reflection lends them a charming naivety despite an ‘punky’ appearance.
Subtlety was the key to the cohesion of Revisionism, across every area not just hair. Fashion Stylist Ella Murphy nailed the brief with fashion which was in no way retro or vintage, but which gave a discreet nod towards the past. Leading Australian photographer Andrew O’Toole, Smith’s regular collaborator worked with a monochrome palette but ensured the demeanour of the models signaled them firmly as 21st century girls.
In creating this collection Smith’s methodology completely reflects his revivalist intention. His precision cutting expertise – the foundation of which is a Sassoon education, is overlaid with ultra-modern techniques to elevate his story above and beyond what one might expect of a revival collection.
- Credits
Hair: Craig Smith
Photo: Andrew O’Toole
Styling: Ella Murphy
Makeup: Kylie O’Toole
