Designer Allina Liu took inspiration from the ancient Greeks, specifically the Daughters of the Nyx, for her eponymous fashion label’s Fall 2024 presentation, which took place at Apotheke in Chinatown. In Greek mythology, three sister goddesses—Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos—known as the Morai (or the Fates) were the most noteworthy of the goddess Nyx’s children and were responsible for spinning, measuring, and cutting the threads of human’s life.
With her Fall 2024 collection, Liu fully leaned into the stories of the Fates by incorporating elements of red ropes in the design of her garments, which also featured lots of ribbons, ties, and bows. One of the main focal points of the collection was a print created in collaboration with LA-based artist, Leanne Kissinger. The beautiful print features a red Shibari (the Japanese art of intricate knot tying) rope woven through orchids and broken shards of Chinese Ming porcelain, as a nod to the Fates’ thread of life.
The use of red ropes in the collection and presentation also extended to the model’s hair. Lead hairstylist Joseph DiMaggio and his team of stylists from Shokunin Education used Alfaparf Milano Professional products to create lived-in braids with red ropes woven throughout the hair. During the presentation, all of the model’s hair were attached to each other, using the ropes, creating one ongoing tether, in reference to the thread of life that connects us all.
Prior to the presentation, The Tease had the pleasure of speaking with DiMaggio backstage to learn a bit more about the Greek-inspired braids that he created—including how he tailored the hair look to suit each model’s hair texture. Keep reading for his insights.
The Tease: Can you tell us a little bit about the hair and what served as inspiration?
Joseph DiMaggio: The hair is inspired by the Daughters of the Nyx in Greek mythology. So we’re actually tethering all the girls together with this red rope cord. We’ve braided it into the hair in a very organic and lived-in way—nothing too done. It’s kind of wild and romantic. We’ve tied them up right now, but when we get them dressed and all ready, we’re going to actually tether them together and braid their hair ends together so they’ll all be connected. It’s going to be incredible.
We just used a little bit of flexible mousse from Alfaparf Milano. We blow dried it in to just get that windswept, romantic, lived-in feel and then we secured the rope into a base underneath the braid and then just continued to braid it in. We’re not making the braids exactly even, because it’s, again, kind of a lived-in vibe.
What was the reasoning behind the red rope?
DiMaggio: It’s just a part of the story about the Daughters of Nyx and then the color red is also strung throughout the whole collection as well. So that’s why Allina wanted to incorporate the rope into the hair. I love it. It’s totally in my wheelhouse, and adding interesting things into the hair is what we do.
What kind of conversations were you having with the designer Allina Liu about how the hair should look for the presentation?
DiMaggio: She very much had a vision and I was able to execute it right away. We were very much on the same page. So I just kind of tried it and she loved the first thing that I did.
Lastly, can you talk to us about how you worked with the model’s different hair textures when it came to styling the hair look?
DiMaggio: We didn’t straighten anyone’s hair or do any kind of heavy lifting with the prep. We kind of left everyone’s natural texture in there. Again, just adding a little mousse to get the movement in there and then braiding the hair. It all worked for any length of hair—long or short—because we were adding the rope so it helps combine everything.
