After a two-year hiatus sparked by the pandemic, Los Angeles-based label Libertine made a much-anticipated return to New York Fashion Week to unveil its Spring 2024 collection. With his latest range of designs, co-founder and creative director Johnson Hartig sought inspiration from an assortment of vintage fabric books from Morocco, which dated back to the ‘30s and ‘40s. This resulted in a bold collection full of vibrant florals, eye-catching prints, and patchwork textiles.
Serving as lead hairstylist, Matthew Curtis was tasked with crafting the perfect hair look that would pair well with Hartig’s designs. Using Olivia Garden tools as well as Oribe products, Curtis opted to give all the models a more polished look featuring big sweeping fringe.
Pre-show, The Tease was able to chat with Curtis about his inspiration for the show’s hair, how it complemented Libertine’s latest collection, and his favorite thing about styling for fashion week. Keep on reading for more!
The Tease: What can you tell us about the hair for Libertine’s Spring 2024 runway show?
Matthew Curtis: So the look is kind of mod and androgynous. It’s got a big sweeping fringe that comes over the forehead. The hair is quite polished, but all the texture that we’ve given it is very natural—everything’s really effortlessly undone. Oribe is our product sponsor and they’ve got some really great dry texture sprays which are perfect for keeping a natural feel. So all the dry texture for the fringe doesn’t look too oily or like it’s too set. It’s a really nice look.
You mentioned that Oribe is the product sponsor, what were some of the tools that you were using backstage?
Curtis: Olivia Garden sponsored us so we’ve got their hairdryer, which is light and compact, as well as their flat irons [on hand] to really get a smooth finish.
How does the hair you created complement the fashion seen throughout the runway show?
Curtis: Well, I think it’s more trend-led, really. Over the past few seasons with Libertine, they’ve had a very similar sort of deep, heavy fringe that comes over and everything has been tucked into the color. A lot of that is still very similar to what we’re seeing now this season. We gave it a bit more of a ‘60s vibe.
And lastly, what has been your favorite thing about styling for New York Fashion Week?
Curtis: There’s people from all over America and the world that apply and come here to work. We’ve got people from Spain, Australia, and England. There’s a hand-selected team that comes to work. Catching up with the people that come to work here and also creating trends that you will see start to become wearable about six months later, that’s really cool.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
