Having just returned from a whirlwind visit to London and New York, I was lucky enough to attend London Fashion Week 2009 but just missed New York Fashion Week. Nevertheless there was a lot to see – fashion and hair styles – in both cities.

I’ll start with London. The general street style in London is so eclectic and edgy that it is almost impossible to generalise. I saw some fantastic creative fashion during my short visit, and the hair is equally creative. The undercut, disconnected looks seen on celebs such as Rihanna and Ruby Rose are big in London, as well as a newer trend for volume.

On the catwalks during Fashion week, there were a lot of designers showing models with big, messy, back combed hair. Long gone is the dead-straight, ironed-to-death hair. Volume is BACK which we know but in a serious styled down way, Kevin.Murphy has been leading the way.

I also noticed some punters working a combination of the two major trends – undercut and volume. A MAC make-up artist, who I unfortunately didn’t get a chance to photograph, had a brilliant afro with shaved sides. She looked absolutely amazing and it was my favourite look from the whole trip.

Having just missed New York Fashion week, I spent some time with a Bumble and Bumble stylist who was still in town – John Ruggiero. New York is a buzz of energy and although John is based in L.A. he took time to show me some cool hair and how Bumble and Bumble works. Not sure what I was expecting from New York, what I got was a great city, loads of people and a real mix of cultures, and some interesting fashion. Having spent time around London Fashion Week and then coming to New York, I was expecting a similar fashion however I left in love with New York but not with its fashion and hair. It was a little conservative for my taste and nothing really blew me away in the street in contrast to London. I went all over NYC – Upper East Side, West Village, Greenwich Village, East Village, Lower East Side, Midtown, Brooklyn, everywhere!

I found the NY style not quite as edgy and cool as London. Don’t get me wrong, everybody looks great and there are millions of models in the city, it just didn’t set me on fire creatively. Guess, I’ll just have to go back to New York and have a closer look – any excuse to return is good enough for me – I ♥ NY!

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Featured Contributor: Stevie Corthine

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