Readheads and Royalty- Project Brief

My project is called Redheads and Royalty, this is based on the collaboration of Elizabethan hairstyles with modern day society. Even now Queen Elizabeth inspires trends for catwalk shows, films etc, but for the Elizabethan times she was an idol. From her pale complexion to her Copper hair, her features became a fashion that everyone wanted to copy, although only the high class could achieve this look of "perfection". 

During Queen Elizabeth's reign the hairstyles became quite elaborate, from curling to padding to ornamenting and even dying their hairs to have the copper/light hair that was deemed as beautiful in this period. They used ingredients such as oil, saffron, celandine and cumin seeds to create this look, some even went to the extreme of using animal or human urine. Having lighter hair was an indication of a the higher class as the ingredients were too expensive for the lower classes. This process did cause a lot of damage to the hair, therefore wigs and hair pieces were a thriving business in these times, Queen Elizabeth herself had 80 wigs. Finally a high hair line was a popular trait, as it represented nobility and intelligence. Many Elizabethans would pluck their hairlines to achieve this look, however due to Queen Elizabeth losing a lot of hair when she has smallpox, she already had this feature.