HAIR & BEARDS. WHAT’S HOT FOR MEN FROM THE SPRING-SUMMER 2019 RUNWAY SHOWS.

For most designers and top barbers, this spring/summer men will be going for a simpler, more natural hair look. So are beards and moustaches on the way out? It’s no great surprise really. According to the rule of “history repeating itself” – which applies just as much to fashion and hairstyles as it does to history – after so much excess (extreme shaving, blinding colours, OMG hairstyles), men are going back to the more natural look. And it was confirmed by the big names of fashion in their Spring Summer 2019 runway shows and echoed by the most influential trendsetters in the hair world with their new looks. But a fair sprinkling of designers still bucked the trend, making the general outlook even more stimulating and varied. And ensuring that every man – just like every woman after all – is allowed to choose the style that says who he is and the one he feels most at ease with. And now a Hamletic doubt. As we watched the different runway shows, a question automatically popped into our heads: what has happened to beards and moustaches? Are they still around or have they gone out of fashion? It’s a hard one, but we’ll try and answer it later on. The runway has spoken: no more extreme and weird looks! But there were still a couple of designers who were not afraid to go against the trend. HAIRTRENDS The message that came across from most of the coolest catwalks was respect the natural texture of hair and a person’s tastes and lifestyle. So the result was looks that went from short and well-groomed to ultra-short, medium-length and free, and even XXL (for instance Balmain) within the same collection. Dior Homme’s hairstyles were styled on good boys. Emporio Armani gave us short cuts and a repeated wet look – with and without the floppy fringe - while Prada went for more casual and very young styles. While on the lookout for hotter heads, we came across Yohji Yamamoto’s men’s show with a diverse offering of colours and styles, all very street style. John Richmond also thought outside the box but didn’t overdo it. Remember Emporio Armani’s understated look we mentioned before? Well, the designer couldn’t resist presenting fantastic dreadlocks with lightened ends. Our round-up of funny runway hair styles ends here. But, at the end of the day, it’ll be the street style and the hairdressers who have the last word. BEARDS AND MOUSTACHES Conspicuous by their absence at this season’s runway shows, word is out that they will still be popular in street style and with VIPs. Beards and moustaches were nowhere to be seen or at least they were the exception amongst the array of clean-shaven looks which graced the Spring Summer 2019 runway shows. One of the few brands to feature them – and successfully! - was Emporio Armani who presented a bearded and moustached super macho (in the photo) and a new generation hipster. Because, as you all know, real hipsters are out of fashion. Beards and moustaches are still trending in street style and some celebs – who proudly sport them as they go about their everyday business, as well as on the red carpet – really don’t want to be parted from them. But one thing has changed that not even the guy next door can escape: the almost obsessive grooming of facial hair. The new motto is no wild yes sleek.