The Hair and Makeup for the Collection

Cos Sakkas, the irrepressibly cheerful stylist for Toni & Guy was in charge of hair, and here too we saw a relaxed, deconstructed, youthful look as though Matthew Williamson's elegant wealthy woman had stepped onto a plane to India with a sleek, perfect bun and centre parting, then as her trip went on, bits came loose..
On the catwalk, the hair and make up really came to life. The simple hair was the perfect foil for the luxe collection, while the girls' skin glowed under the lights with the kind of radiant health and beauty that only genes, youth - and a big bottle of Sunbeam can achieve.

Matthew Williamson Collection

Matthew Williamson's 15th anniversary show was inspired by his love of India and the colourfull festival of Holi, the collection was as covetable, and as colourful, as one would expect from Williamson.
Inspiration for that cornucopia of colour came courtesy of the Holi Festival  an Indian street party where people throw brightly coloured powder over one another and which provided Williamson with the hypercolourful, playful vibe that runs through his work like a seam.
Above the catwalk hung garlands of colourful flowers and strings of lightbulbs, giving the contemporary space the warm, bustling feel of an Indian market place - you could almost smell the jasmine and spices in the air.
The Holi festival is being used in fashion and runways, and in many collections from successful designers. 

HOLI FESTIVAL INSPIRED EVENT IN CAPE TOWN

This image advertise an upcoming festival in cape town, the theme is borrowed from the Hindu tradition of Holi, This is aimed at ravers and trance party enthusiasts, This shows that the festival of Holi is being borrowed and celebrated all over the world. This shows how the festival of holi is being incorporated in modern society and not just in India but all over the world. 

The festival of colours

A colourful celebration

Holi is the Hindu festival that welcomes the Spring and celebrates the new life and energy of the season. Although Holi has religious roots, not much religious activity is involved in its celebration.

Holi is the most energetic Indian festival, filled with fun and good humour; even the strict rules of separation between castes are abandoned.

Holi is also called 'The Festival of Colours', and people celebrate the festival by smearing each other with paint, and throwing coloured powder and dye around in an atmosphere of great good humour.

Holi is seen by some as the Hindu festival that is nearest in spirit to St. valentines day. 

Holi in Brief

• A spring festival, usually celebrated in March
• Holi also celebrates krishna, and the legend of Holika and Prahalad
• Holi is particularly celebrated in North India
• Although Holi has religious roots there are few religious things to do
• Distinctions of caste, class, age, and gender are suspended during Holi
• A very exuberant festival, with dancing, singing, and throwing of paint
• Holi features gender rivalry, with contests between men and women, and public flirting
• Bonfires are lit during Holi, and food offerings are roasted
• The festival is officially celebrated on the day after full moon during the month of Phalunga, which falls in February-March

Primary research on Indian Culture

I went into Southall, in West London and i did some primary research on Indian accessories and clothes, I wanted to get a idea of how colourfull Indian culture is and i thought this would be the best place for it as it. The whole street was full of Indian shops and markets and it was very colourfull. i looked into accessories first and found that they were very over the top and heavy, also gold is a popular colour of accessories within Indian culture. Then i looked at the clothes for both men and women and again the clothes were very colourfull and had a lot of beads and jewels on them. It was very interesting to see how they used different colours and patterns to put these beautiful pieces together. I went into one shop where they sold statues of Gods and i could see from that why the culture itself is so colourfull because the Gods themselves were very colourfull and were wearing many different accessories. This primary research helped me a lot  to get an idea of how i was going to style my model and what colours to use that will compliment each other  I had a really enjoyable day and learnt a great deal about the culture and was also very inspired to get a move on with my look and put it all together because i had so many ideas running through my head. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hh-o5g4tLVE

This is another video i came across, what i really liked about this video is that the holy festival has been used in modern cultures and not just in India, it is being used all over the world. names such as the Worlds biggest colour party are being used to describe the Holy festival. This video is really interesting as it gives me lots of ideas for looks and how i could interpret colour into my looks.

http://highsierraworkshops.com/video-holi-festival-in-india/

I came across this video when researching into the Holy festival, this really shows the Holy festival and what it is really about. I am very intrigued by this festival because of the use of colours, i would say that this is a way of art and expressing yourself. One of the main reasons why i chose to do the Holy festival is becuase of the many colours and you can do so much with it and are not tied down to one thing. When watching this video i really got a feel for how exciting it is and how this is the one day of the year when people can really let their hair down and have fun.