The center part gets a bad rap. The hairstyle of lazy 13-year-old girls everywhere gets most of its notoriety from the 70s hippie look. But for Spring 2013, designers took a special shining to the center part. Roberto Cavalli and Jil Sander gave two very different takes on how to wear the center part in modern – even edgy – ways.
One key takeaway from Roberto Cavalli (above) is that you never want to make the center part too perfect or precious. If your hair is long and you brush it out perfectly smooth, there's no way to avoid looking like a flower child. The rough texture Redken Creative Consultant Guido achieved is key.
"This is an easy style that's a little bit grungy, and just very cool," he said. He had girls put their hair behind their ears to give it a more disheveled look. I'm always about a hairstyle that allows me to put my hair behind my ears while still remaining chic.
For this look, use an anti-frizz product on wet hair and rough dry, create a clean part and perhaps add some texturizing product and mess hair up a little bit.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is the super sleek, super straight ponytail at Jil Sander. Nothing disheveled or messy here, and you'll definitely have to break out the straightening iron.
"It's hard to wear hair this straight down sometimes, but with this pony it becomes more of a look," Guido said. "And this pony's a bit more styled than your usual tight low pony, as dropping the elastic down gives it more softness and a different feel. It's also fun to see super straight hair in a way that sort of makes it new again."
Guido applied Redken satinwear 02 prepping blow-dry lotion to damp hair and blew it dry straight one section at a time. Then he created a clean center part and flat ironed hair stick straight. Next, he gathered hair at the nape of the neck, covering ears, and secured tightly with an elastic. He slid the elastic down the hair about an inch and applied shiny flash 02 glistening mist.
images: Redken
Via: Embrace the Center Part Without Dying of Boredom