MARKI SHKRELI : HAIRDRESSER & PHOTOGRAPHER
++ EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW FOR THE SEASON SS2011 ++ http://www.markishkreli.com/
PR: Marki, you've had a great season! You were working on major shows - Louis Vuitton, Alexander Mcqueen, Cavalli... just to name a few. How is it to work with Guido Palau? He is a creative genius when it comes to hairstyling.
MARKI SHKRELI: It was such a great pleasure to work with Guido.
PR: Cavalli celebrated it’s 40th anniversary. The hair was very Amazon hippie – if that exists.
MARKI SHKRELI: Love the name you gave for the hair at Cavalli.
PR: Natalia Vodianova was also there! First of all, how did you like Natalia?
MARKI SHKRELI: Natalia is one of my favorite models and she seems very sweet and nice.
PR: Models at Cavalli had hair extensions. Do you work a lot with extensions? What are the best hair products to work with this type of hair?
MARKI SHKRELI: Yes, at the Cavalli show the models had hair extensions and on 80 percent of the shows we use hair extensions. Since the hair extensions are 100 percent human hair we can use the same products on them as we do on the models natural hair.
The best hair product to take out the extensions are any type of thickening spray since the alcohol in the spray expands and makes taking out the glued in hair extensions a breeze. I suggest using Bumble and Bumble Thickening Hair Spray.
PR: What do you think how old is too old for having long hair?
MARKI SHKRELI: The question of how old is too old for having long hair is solely based on the Woman. I know women personally who are in their late 60s who have had the same length hair since they were 30. Also I know women who are 30 and keep going shorter and shorter as they get older.
Personally if the woman feels comfortable and sexy with her long hair it shouldn't matter how old she is. Brigitte Bardot, Rita Hayworth, Christie Brinkley to name a few from when they were 20 to there early 60s kept their hair length relatively the same.
PR: Do you like the sexy women Cavalli is presenting?
MARKI SHKRELI: I feel that Cavalli is presenting sexy beauty perfectly. The Women in the show looked very beautiful and strong.
PR: How do you define beauty?
MARKI SHKRELI: Beauty to me is about a Woman being strong and this comes with the way she walks, talks, and speaks.
PR: This season house of A.Mcqueen, led by Sarah Burton, was under the radar so to speak. Was the pressure backstage higher because it was probably the most expected collection?
MARKI SHKRELI: This was my first time doing Alexander McQueen and it was very memorable. I didn't feel pressure while we were backstage doing hair but write before the show started and also when Sarah was going to walk out on the runway their was a immediate feeling in the air of emptiness since it was the first show without Alexander which was very sad.
PR: Hairstyle at Alexander McQueen was literally „fantasy“. Was it hard to do the look. It seemed like a straw weaving.
MARKI SHKRELI: Yes the Hairstyle at Mcqueen was Fantasy! Basically it was started by spraying sections of hair with hairspray and then flat ironing them to make them moldable since the hairstyle was very moldable to create the straw weaving effect.
After all of the sections of hair were hair sprayed then we used hair extensions that were a few shades lighter to create the 3 dimensional effect so that the weaving was seen. With the hair extensions we weaved them into the girls natural hair horizontally.
The hairstyle took around 1 hour from start to finish.
PR: Do you think you can make a basket after that? LOL.
MARKI SHKRELI: Yes, I believe I could get a career as a basket weaver after this if hair/photography don't work out for me haha!
PR: Short hair was definitely dominating this season. At least in Paris. Who had your favorite “short hair” make over?
MARKI SHKRELI: My favorite "short hair" make over - hands down - has to be Britt Maren @ Women NY. It wasn't just a short hair make over but also her color was changed from being a dark blonde to now a platinum 50's Marilyn Monroe bombshell blonde. It makes her look so strong and brings such a different element to the table by breaking the gap of models having the same length hair and color.
PR: Hair at Louis Vuitton was very sophisticated - very polished.
MARKI SHKRELI: The hair at Louis Vuitton was very elegant and very classic. Guido stated that he wanted the girls to have Vidal Sasson looking haircuts and to create this we wrapped the hair so that it would look very short and sleek into a V in the back of the head. The hair in front we round brushed with the hair coming towards the head so that the hair would cover the right eye and make it a very mysterious sexy look.
PR: Do you think that many women will apply that look?
MARKI SHKRELI: Yes , I see women that will apply this look into their everyday life. Instead of creating just a simple chignon a woman can round-brush her hair towards her head and make the hair sweep away from her face and then connect it to the chignon to make it a classier version that would be suitable for a dinner date or even a wedding.
PR: Kristina S., the model who opened the show, had the most striking hair style at the show.
MARKI SHKRELI: Kristina S hair was amazing. The combining of the 2 colors and especially the cut made the hair look like art which tied together perfectly with the clothes at Louis Vuitton.
PR: Which girls impressed you the most during SS 2011? MARKI SHKRELI: The girls that impressed me the most during the spring summer 2011 shows were Jac, Frida, Hanne Gaby, Rose Cordero, and Kristina Romanova.PR: Who had the best hair?MARKI SHKRELI: The best hair award is a tie between Kristina Romanova which has the healthiest long hair that I have ever done and Cameron Russell which I haven't yet done her hair yet but seen her at a couple shows and her hair looks so healthy and thick. 
PR: Advice what a model can do to keep the hair healthy looking?
MARKI SHKRELI:
My advice for a model who wants to keep her hair healthy is to do 2 very important things.
1. It's very important to remember to trim your hair once a month. Normally it’s once every 6 weeks but since models go through so much strain on their hair I advise them to get a trim once a month. This will keep the hair looking full, shiny and healthy.
2. Use a hair mask on your hair once a week and sleep with it over night. When washing your hair daily always condition and when conditioning it use a wide-tooth comb and comb your hair while your in the shower so that you get all of the knots out.
