Those who know Lores Giglio would agree that her friendly, gregarious nature is most definitely one of her best assets. So when it came time to start preparing the hair brief for the Romance was Born show on day four of Rosemount Australian Fashion Week, Lores called on many of her hairdresser mates to lend a helping hand. And it wasn’t about which salon anyone belonged to – it was about a group of artists coming together under the guise of creativity and education – and wow, what an experience!

The hair team alone consisted of more than 15 stylists, and together with a sea of makeup artists, set designers, fashion stylists and around 30 models, backstage at The Sydney Theatre Company was bedlam. Team a cast of dozens with a 3am call time and you’d be forgiven for thinking that fragile personalities could run riot. But thanks to weeks of preparation and commitment from Lores’ team, backstage was running like clockwork.

Having directed hair for the Romance was Born show in 2008 to great acclaim, Lores had a strong relationship with designers Anna Plunket and Luke Sales from the word go. Her brief was an underwater fantasy, with a license to run wild!

“My brief was doilies, pearls, oysters and shells,” Lores explains, “plus they gave me names including Lobster Girl, Mermaid Slut, Queen of Seaweed and Mother of Pearl and I had to bring these creatures to life. It was so much fun!

“My preparation started about three weeks before the show. Hair Power sponsored all of our real hair pieces, so we pre-coloured pastel fringes with Fudge Paintbox mixed with a pale shade of lightener. These pieces were then set in a finger wave with Fudge gel to dry, then brushed out. That was one big part of the preparation. Then we had another whole day where the team came up with the seven feature looks for the show. We took photos and wrote out step-by-steps so we saved time on the day.”

That’s where her team of helpers came into action. On hand were the Fudge team headed up by Duncan Richards; Wildlife’s Ali Holmes and Monica McGowan; Paloma Garcia-Campo from Oscar Oscar, Kiara Bailey from Hair Lingerie in LA; freelancers Megan and Benn Jae; and of course the team from Brad Ngata including Luana Coscia, Tom Hanley, Tara Sutton, Kelly Grant, Remington Shultz, Jacqueline de Souza, plus first assistants Joel Phillips, a second-year apprentice; Jess Cooper, in her fourth year and Trang Ho, who has just completed her apprenticeship.

“Assisting Lores is always a huge event,” laughs Trang, who was working on RAFW for the third year running, “so it was no surprise ‘Romance was Born’ was one of the biggest shows of the week.

“Working with Lores and the designers to create the looks was a huge eye opener for me as to how the show came together. It took two weeks of playing around with various clips, coloured hair wefts and hair textures to bring the looks together, using names like Iced Volvo, Mermaid Bride and Budgie Girl to coincide with the clothes.

“This year was my third year working on RAFW, and it was a bit more challenging this time as I had the task of re-creating the looks on the day, rather than assisting as I usually would do in the past. It is always fun working on RAFW – but it’s not as glamorous as it looks, that’s for sure! It’s what I learn about coming trends and the skills I acquire that I really look forward to,” Trang adds.

Joel agrees wholeheartedly. “It was amazing to work with Lores as a head assistant,” he enthuses. “I learn so much working outside of the salon.

“Sure, we had weeks of preparation outside work hours plus a really early 3am call on the day of the show, but the experience of being in a creative environment doing what I love means that all my hard work really pays off.”

Lores believes that working on a show the scale of this one provides enormous benefits for young stylists who have a passion for fashion.

“Money can’t buy experience, so to be a part of such an exciting production, their eyes are exposed to how things can be at a fashion event,” Lores says. “They learn about the involvement you have with the designer and how the whole experience comes together, not just the hair. They also were with me during the prep stages, so they got really up close and personal with each of the looks.

“Luana and Kiara were my co-directors in charge of the feature looks, as they all needed individual attention to detail. Joel was my personal assistant and followed me everywhere. Whenever I turned my head, he was there. If I thought about needing a bobby pin, he would be waving it in the air. Trang and Jess were amazing – they helped me the week before in the production side of things, plus they had their own responsibilities on the day. Everyone had a job to do and it all came together brilliantly! What a team!”

Some of the looks that emerged out of the Romance was Born creative melting pot included the aforementioned Pastel group as well as the Navy Girls, who were prepped with Fudge Sea Salt wet to shag dry, then back combed with Membrane Gas and brushed into exaggerated buns with lots of feathered texture. There was a Lobster Girl with wet gel twisted coral hair; a Mermaid Slut with big padding and pre-set wefts; a Mermaid Bride with zigzag texture, Ice Volvo with a Fudge Gel finger wave set that was Paintbox coloured and set in curls with silver exposed pins and the Queen of Sea Weed with a shiny seahorse ‘do.

Complemented by amazing makeup artistry from M.A.C, headed up by the brilliant Natasha Severino, the Romance was Born show was a huge hit – reducing a few fashionistas to tears.

“I was overwhelmed and amazed with the result of the production,” Lores concludes. “It’s very nerve-wracking when people have total trust in you to pull a team together.

“My assistants weren’t the only ones who learnt from this experience,” she adds. “I did too. I learnt that I should trust myself more often. And that prep prep prep is the way to go. It makes the day run smooth with such extreme looks.”