Raise The Bar: 3 Ways To Style New-Season Hair Accessories

With each new season comes the renewed energy to update our fashion and beauty choices, not least our rotation of hair accessories.

The right hair accessories have the ability to bring an ensemble to life  whether ultra-embellished or subtle and dainty  not to mention their practicality to secure a style in place.

According to Greg Murrell, esteemed hairstylist and founder of Auckland-based salon Ryder, 2022 is the year to use hair accessories as a quick yet elegant means of bringing some order and individuality to your hair look.

“There can be a nice juxtaposition between undone hair and some adornment. But perhaps after all this [the pandemic] there will be a desire for a little more glamour. Accessories can work beautifully with sleeker, more polished hair also,” he says.

He adds New Zealanders are tapping into their growing appetites to be more experimental with their overall look – not least how they choose to accessorise their hair.

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“With all the challenges we have all faced recently it seems that some of the rules or mores don’t apply anymore. So perhaps this is fertile ground for a more experimental time,” Greg says.

In this bespoke shoot created for Viva, accessories from French brand Sylvain le Hen are paired with nonchalant styles to illustrate this high-low mix Greg references.

Designed by Anthony Beaujault, the range of metallic, modernist hair accessories are curved to the head shape, fusing form with functionality.

“As Sylvain le Hen Hair accessories are created by a hairdresser, they are perfectly sized and shaped to the head-form and the proportions really work. They are beautifully crafted but don’t look gaudy,” Greg says.

A selection of geometric Sylvain le Hen accessories is now available from Rydersalon.com, timing in perfectly with the launch of Ryder’s new brand identity and website.

Two years in the making, Greg says while the pandemic interrupted their timeline, it also gave him and his branding agency the opportunity for extra thinking and development time.

“We wanted to create a synthesis of a personal service-based business with a digital online service, and to marry those two elements together in a seamless way,” he says.

The rebrand isn’t the only exciting thing in the pipeline for Ryder this year, with Greg teasing some creative collaborations will come to life soon on the new digital screens in Britomart.

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“We have previously exhibited art by Michael Parekowhai in our window spaces, so with that as a high bar we want to continue to celebrate creativity and brighten up our corner of the city,” he says.

Alongside Sylvain le Hen, expect to see a host of other exclusive, innovative new brands added to Ryder’s webstore soon, along with snippets of advice on how to find the right haircare or accessories to suit your unique hair needs.

Below, this simple step-by-step guide shows you how to create these chic looks from home.

LONG & LOOSE (above)

Va-va-voom volume and curved metal hair clips bring the fun factor with this hair-raising look.

Step 1: Create texture in the hair by tonging a wave into it using the Ghd Curve Thin Curling Wand, $290.

Step 2: Lightly brush out the hair using the Denman Power Paddle D38 Brush, $56.

Step 3: Then liberally spray Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray, $76, for volume, texture and separation into the hair.

Step 4: Use your fingertips to distribute the hair so that the ends are a little loose.

Step 5: Creatively add hairclips like the Sylvain le Hen Barrette 021XS, $120, and the Sylvain le Hen Barrette 065XS, $140, to accessorise and decorate.

TWISTED CHIGNON

Easy and effortless, this chic, twisted style calls for a large, luxurious metal slide comb to secure it in place  making it an excellent option whatever the weather.

Step 1: Apply Iles Formula Finishing Serum, $81, liberally to wet hair for shine, smoothness and heat protection, then dry using your hairdryer of choice and the Denman Power Paddle D38 Brush, $56.

Step 2: Brush your hair backwards away from the face and gather it in the area between the crown and the nape.

Step 3: Keep twisting the hair with some tension until you can fashion a knot shape.

Step 4: Slide the tips of the Sylvain le Hen Haircomb Groom, $130, into the knot a little, then rotate the comb 180 degrees and fix it into the hair close to the head to secure the knot.

LOW-SLUNG PONYTAIL

This sophisticated style necessitates a double-up of gilt curved hair clasps which fit perfectly around the contours of your ponytail.

Step 1: Spray R+Co Rockaway Salt Spray, $46, liberally through your hair and dry with your hands for volume and texture.

Step 2: Loosely section of the top area of your hair and direct it back as though you are going to create a mini-ponytail. Clasp the Sylvain le Hen Barrette 047, $115, around this hair.

Step 3: Then groom the remaining hair backwards and hold it at the nape.

Step 4: Place the ponytail from the top area on top of this hair and use the Sylvain le Hen Barrette 044, $140, to hold it in place.

Step 5: Pull out a few loose pieces of hair to soften the look to finish.

Photography / Luke Foley-Martin. Hair / Benjamin James for Ryder. Makeup / Hannah Francesca. Styling / Krizden Edser for Ryde. Model / Isla Q from Unique Model Management.

STOCKISTS: Denman, Ghd, Iles Formula, Oribe, R+Co, Sylvain le Hen available from Ryder Salon, 56 Customs St E, Auckland, or online at Rydersalon.com