How to recreate the undone updos at Alix Higgins’ Resort 2027 show

“The beauty of the look comes from keeping it imperfect and slightly unpredictable.”

Sitting somewhere between Edwardian romance and lived-in grunge, the beauty at Alix Higgins’ Australian Fashion Week (AFW) Resort 2027 runway was entirely its own. One of the most anticipated events on the AFW calendar, Alix’s fifth solo showcase, titled An opening voluntary, featured a number of the designer’s offbeat hallmarks: blocky, sans-serif text, eccentric colour and a beautiful, offbeat sensibility.

With Shark Beauty as the exclusive hair tool partner of the night, the brief was to build on Alix’s designs, keeping in line with his signature ‘undone’ aesthetic.

“We wanted the hair to feel elevated and beautiful, but with subtle elements that felt unexpected or slightly ‘off,’ almost like the glamour had naturally unravelled over time,” explains hairstylist Daniel Jianing. As a Shark Beauty Ambassador and the Hair Director of the night, Daniel worked with Alix to create the unique, Gibson girl-inspired bouffant, using Shark’s innovative Glam Hot Tool Air Drying & Styling System.

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Created by illustrator Charles Dana Gibson in the late 1800s and early 1900s, the Gibson Girl is largely considered to be America’s first ‘it girl’ – an autonomous, modern woman in the age of the industrial revolution. It was an apt choice for Alix’s collection, which contrasts soft, diaphonous layers with punky elements like deconstruction and jagged, raw-edge hems.

“Alix has a very unique way of balancing chic silhouettes with unconventional construction. He can take something familiar, like a recycled polo shirt, and transform it into something emotionally and visually new,” Daniel says.

“I wanted the hair to follow that same philosophy. We looked at the contrast within the collection: polish versus disruption, romance versus irregularity and translated that into texture and silhouette.”

Rather than creating one uniform hairstyle, Daniel’s team designed variations for each model, taking into account hair length, texture and individuality. Below, he steps us through how to re-create the editorial styles at home, plus the tools that make it happen.

Prep is everything

For this particular show, Daniel’s team paid special attention to pre-styling prep in order to create volume and texture. “We started by prepping the hair with Kevin Murphy Anti.Gravity.Spray and Killer.Waves to create grip, movement and a workable foundation for backcombing and sculptural shaping,” Daniel says.

From there, the team built volume through back-teasing and moulding. “We wanted the final finish to feel lived-in, airy, and touchable rather than overly polished.”

The essential tools

To create these voluminous, sculpted styles, Daniel relied on the new Shark Glam Hot Tool Air Drying & Styling System. With four versatile styling attachments, the Glam System uses a combination of heat-controlled ceramic and air to create everything from blowouts to sleek, ultra-straight styles.

“We used the straightening iron attachment in a very unconventional way, almost like a modern version of a vintage hot roller set. Instead of flattening the hair, we used it to pre-set movement and shape into the hair before deconstructing it,” Daniel explains.

“The tool also allowed us to create soft, effortless bends and irregular curls very quickly backstage. A lot of the finish came from dressing the hair by hand, sculpting shapes organically, and then diffusing the structure using the Defrizz Diffuser attachment to keep the look soft and imperfect.”

Tips for at-home success

The key to recreating the look is avoiding any over-polishing or correcting. As Daniel instructs, you can backcomb selected areas of your hair for shape, then break the finish apart with your hands. “I would recommend finishing with a dry texturising product to create that matte, airy texture,” he adds. “The beauty of the look comes from keeping it imperfect and slightly unpredictable.”

Daniel also emphasises the importance embracing of your hair’s unique texture and natural density, too. “Rather than forcing one identical silhouette across everyone, we allowed different hair types to influence the final outcome.”

For finer hair, they focused on providing internal support, teasing the hair and layering in product to build volume. For thicker or naturally textured hair, they worked with existing movement and shape to create softer, deconstructed forms.

“The idea was to maintain a consistent emotional feeling across the cast while allowing each model to still feel authentic.”

Discover Shark’s Glam Hot Tool Air Drying & Styling System here.