Testing of ideas

In my designs I have included the 'Chinese staircase braid', which I found when doing my research. As I have never created this before I tested it out on a dolls head before doing it on my nylon wig. 

The braid was actually easier than I thought it was going to be, just quite time consuming. Its consisted of notting the hair, which was quite difficult to get out. Also it was hard to make it look smooth and sleek, although I think the end result actually looked quite effective. After doing this practice I have decided to do these braids using hair extensions instead of on my wig, as it will mean that I won't have to try and un-knot the hair each time I have to restyle my wig.

Final Idea - Extreme

I want my final extreme idea to show my character as she is marrying the Prince. I wanted this to be really elaborate and detailed, so I have made the entire middle section of the hair into a mixture of small and large plaits, incorporating ribbon within the plaits. I used aspects from both traditional Chinese royalty hairstyles, and how traditionally married women in China style their hair. 

For the bottom I am going to twist and pin the hair into place, and for the top I am going to use hair doghnuts for the main structure, then pull the hair through and pin in place. 

I have still used aspects from my initial design, but after feedback from my presentation of ideas I changed the bottom section, and changed the top section so it wasn't too over the top. 

Final Idea - Moderate

For my moderate idea, I want it to show my character after she is married to the Prince and is now part of the Chinese royal family. I changed my idea a lot from my orginal idea, as when I tried to test the idea out I realised it would be extremely difficult, especially on nylon hair. 

I want this hairstyle to be really grand and quite big. I will use padding to create the main structure. For the front I will cover the hairline with lots of small plaits, using hair extensions as well. I will also use a gold ribbon to put at the top of the plaits. 

At the back of the hair I will bring the remaining hair to the back in a twist like shape, incorporating ribbon into it. 

Final Idea - Simple

My final simple idea is based around how my character has just moved to China and met the Prince. I still based it around how in traditional Chinese culture single women wear their hair down with braids at the back, so I used this within my design. I have only changed this design slightly from my original idea.

The braids will be a twist, chinese staircase braid and plaits. I will make the Chinese braid using hair extensions as I don't want to ruin my wig, and it will be easier to attach.

I want the hair to be really smooth and sleek, which could be difficult as it is the last shoot. I think that it will take quite a while to brush the hair so that it is like this, so I will need to ensure that I start to restyle it as soon as possible after my moderate shoot, so that I have enough time to create the look I want to achieve.

Presentation of research and ideas

After presenting my presentation to my class, the main feedback that I received was mainly about my story and how to link it to the colour of the wig. I need to think of how to link these factors together better. Also they felt that the bottom part of my extreme design didn't look quite right, I need to expand on this design so that it flows better. I need to really think about what materials and flowers I use in my designs as this can completely change the outcome.

Initial ideas - Extreme

I want to base my extreme idea on the fact that my character has married the Prince, and is now married into the Royal family. This means that I want my idea to be very grand and detailed. I have included buns at both the top and bottom of the hair, with detailed plaits in the middle.

Initial ideas - Moderate

For my initial moderate idea, I want to base my design on the fact that my character is marrying the Prince. This means that I will take influence from traditional Chinese bridal hair, and the symbolism of hair for married women in China. This means that the hair will have to be up. I will include buns with ribbon thread through linking the buns, and attach some decorative hair pins.