1 mins
BEHIND THE LENS Kalopsia
Efi Davies shares the story behind her award-winning collection, Kalopsia
What do you love about this collection?
What I really like about my collection is how it ties together with elegance and innovation. Every single character is different, but it ties beautifully together.
What was the inspiration for the hair?
My hair collection is called Kalopsia and was inspired by trypophobia, a fear of irregular patterns. The aim was to transform something perceived as unattractive into something beautiful. The techniques I used were diverse, with a focus on creating elegance from natural elements like pebbles and sand. I was influenced by the sun's effect on these materials. This concept ties into the broader idea of finding beauty in unusual or fear-inducing forms.
How did you go about setting up the shoot?
Setting up an avant-garde shoot requires a lot of organisation and for weeks, maybe months, I was prepping the hair pieces. The number one rule is to prepare the hair pieces and put the concept together in advance. Communication with your team is really important, from your photographer to the make-up artist and the clothes stylist, to make sure everything comes together on the day. There was a lot of preparation leading up to the shoot day, because when it comes to the day, you want to just go straight in and shoot your images.
Did anything go wrong or surprise you on the day?
Preparation is number one when it comes to doing a shoot, especially when you’re working with avant-garde concepts. Even though I had a lot of preparation and knew what my images were going to look like, I was pleasantly surprised with one of the looks. I had something completely different in mind, and then I started playing with a piece on the head, and it looked completely different to what I was expecting. But I was very pleased with the results. So always experiment up until the last minute, you never know what you will get!
Do you have a significant memory from the day?
For me, the stand-out memory is normally at the end of the shoot. When you see the images together for the first time, it's just a moment you take in and, of course, a few drinks afterwards, for sure.