“I owe him so much,” says Cara Delevingne of Karl Lagerfeld as she arrives on the Met Gala red carpet in a look inspired by her days as the designer’s muse. The “silvery blue” shag wig she donned, along with an oversize version of his iconic white shirt, was a reimagining of a Chanel Cruise 2013 shoot featuring the model and actor in different pastel pixie hairpieces.
And as the star of Vogue’s April cover and guest of honor for Lagerfeld’s eponymous brand for this year’s gala, Delevingne’s beauty look was a meaningful tribute to their relationship. “We planned a show-stopping wig and style to pay homage to Karl, his creativity, and bond with Cara,” says hairstylist Danielle Priano, who looked at past campaigns they did together for inspiration. “We decided to modernize these references by creating and styling a cool, shag-style wig to celebrate their history and bring the past to life.”
In anticipation of a long night of dancing, Priano clipped back Delevingne’s natural hair, pulled on a wig cap, and painted Professional Hair Labs Ghostbond adhesive in incremental layers for a seamless, invisible hold. “To style the wig, I used Tangle Teezer’s The Ultimate Styler brush from roots to ends to smooth it out while creating shine,” she says, noting that T3’s Switch Kit Wave Trio created “wispy, delicate flips” that she misted with Healthy SexyHair Smooth & Seal Anti-Frizz & Shine Spray as a “finishing gloss” for the look.
Priano, who started working with Delevingne half a decade ago, has come to expect a creative process that showcases her singular point of view. After “many years working with Karl, Cara expressed how important it was to achieve a look that he would want and likely suggest himself,” she says. “She told me that he always loved colored wigs.” It was a fitting beauty moment for an exhibition examining the themes of Lagerfeld’s work. “He lives on,” says Delevingne.
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