L.A.M.B. Backstage Preview: INOA Takes To The Runway

As anyone who watched the commercials during the Golden Globe Awards is well aware, Gwen Stefani recently signed on as the newest member of L’Oréal’s celebrity spokesperson roster (they’ve got J. Lo and Beyoncé, too, for those of you counting). Stefani fronts ads for the beauty giant’s Infallible Le Rouge lipstick collection, a good match considering her appreciation for a glossy, vibrant red pout. Her other beauty statement, of course, is the platinum blond ‘do she’s been dyeing since well before No Doubt lit up the garage rock scene back in the early nineties.

The songstress-turned-fashion designer clearly has a thing for hair dye. For her L.A.M.B. show tonight, Stefani requested that models get L’Oréal Professionnel INOA treatments courtesy of famed New York colorist Eva Scrivo. “Being a designer and a woman, Gwen saw the link between color and fabric and fashion,” Scrivo told us last week when we sat in on an exclusive color session to prep models for Stefani’s Fall runway, which is loosely based around the idea of gangs. “It’s about boldness and girl power,” Scrivo said of the collection. “Adding dimension to the color adds dimension to the style, and it makes such a difference to the quality of the hair.”

Quality is the key word here; the whole wonder of INOA is its ammonia-free, oil delivery system, which allows it to deposit color molecules without busting the hair cuticle wide open. “The biggest trend for Fall is shiny, healthy hair—not specific colors,” Scrivo said. So don’t expect cotton-candy streaks tonight like those we’ve already seen backstage at Prabal Gurung, Theyskens’ Theory, and Jeremy Scott. What will you see? “A lot of matte browns with violet undertones, so colors that still have red in them, but cooler, more wearable reds.” For blondes, Scrivo is betting is on balayage highlights with “true neutral beige undertones—not too cool or warm.”

“We’re just basically ‘richening’ the hair,” Scrivo surmised of her undertaking, which included dyeing models’ brows. This, dear readers, is an easier, more permanent way to get Fall’s bigger, bushier arches. “You need to use a different formula because the hair is ashier,” Scrivo said of the dye mixture she was applying to the face. “It’s great because all the superfluous little hairs grab the color so they look thicker”—a welcomed alternative to applying pencils and powders on a daily basis.