Hair stylist Cim Mahony grants Vogue Scandinavia a backstage pass to Saks Potts' autumn/winter '24 runway show as he brings to life the vision of early '00s festival-going 'dos
Drawing inspiration from Kate Moss during her Glastonbury days, naturally the Saks Potts' woman this hair was rocking matted textures and tousled waves. "The hair had a very glam look to begin with, pre party of course," says hair stylist Cim Mahony. "That's why we finished with a spritz of Oribe's dry texturiser for more of a matte look."
This is the third season in a row that Mahony has invited Vogue Scandinavia backstage to experience the controlled chaos of the backstage area at a runway show. "There's usually the calm before the storm," he jokes, noting how it quickly pivots to a full-on focus on getting the models ready in time.
Related: Saks Potts honours the '00s festival style of Kate Moss in a tightly-edited AW24 collection
For Saks Potts, the Kate Moss references and cool-girl styling offered ample inspiration in terms of hair styles – although it did pose its challenges. "Creating an undone look is often thought of as easy, but in actual fact, can be one of the hardest things to do," Mahony tells Vogue Scandinavia. "We wanted to have a sort of slept in glamour replicating a once chic hairstyle that has been through four days of partying supermodel style at a festival."
As for how to achieve the look? "We started by blowdrying each models' hair, adding a little Less is More Lime Souffle to create a matted-down, slightly greasy look," Mahony shares. Next, Mahony added more dimension by use the styling concentrator attachment on the Dyson Supersonic™ on French braids to create a natural movement and subtle wave. To finish off, the waves were intensified with a set of straighteners, and roughened up with a classic up-side-down shake for that "slept in" look.
Step backstage at Saks Potts's runway show:
Designer Barbara Potts relaxing on the stairs of Saks Potts' beautiful showroom. Photo: Frederik Kastrupsen
Pre-meeting in session with the designers, choreographer, hair, make up and (of course) the models. Photo: Frederik kastrupsen
Cim Mahony worked with Dyson tools backstage. Photo: Frederik kastrupsen
"We started by blowdrying each models hair, adding a little Less is More Limesouffle to create a mated down slightly greasy look to the hair" . Photo: Frederik Kastrupsen
"We then used the Supersonic with the gentle Air Attachment to weed out flyaways on top of our greasier base. This makes the hair look more windswept". Photo: Frederik Kastrupsen
"To finnish, we used the Dyson Corrale cordless Straightener to create flat waves here". Photo: Frederik Kastrupsen
"Backstage at Saks Potts there is always a familiar vibe and loads of fun, especially with Nina Marker in the chair, who never fails to crack me up laughing my head off". Photo: Frederik Kastrupsen
"Getting closer to showtime the concentration level rises and we get our heads down and do some serious work". Photo: Frederik Kastrupsen
"The show venue and the backstage was split across two sides of the street. Here the beautiful Rose and Emma lead the crew from the backstage area to the rehearsals". Photo: Frederik Kastrupsen
Rehearsal briefs in the venue, Saks Potts' showroom. Photo: Frederik Kastrupsen
"The models are in their outfits and here I am doing pre line up touch ups on the gorgeous Stella Maxwell". Photo: Frederik Kastrupsen
"The lovely model Rose embodying the perfect late '90s Kate Moss with extensions worn in textured hair". Photo: Frederik Kastrupsen
More model touch-ups. Photo: Frederik Kastrupsen
"Minutes before showtime, doing the walk across the street again. In full outfits and rock n' roll authenticity from Nina and Klara Kristin". Photo: Frederik Kastrupsen
"My assistant Alexandra taking the rock-chic look serious behind the scenes". Photo: Frederik Kastrupsen
"Last touch ups, seconds before the show". Photo: Frederik Kastrupsen
Hair: Cim Mahony / @dysonhair
Makeup: Rikke Dengsø Jensen
Photography: Frederikka Strupsen