In the hours before the 2022 Met Gala, designer Christopher Kane offered a clue that his interpretation of the “Gilded Glamour” theme would be characteristically off-kilter, using a punkish assemblage of safety pins to spell out “Met Ball 2022.” By the time Tommy Dorfman took the red carpet in the label’s floor-sweeping emerald gown for her Met debut, it was clear that this would be a fashion moment that blended romanticism and kink, heirloom jewels and midriff-baring cutouts, history and this very moment.
“It’s ultramodern,” says hairstylist Blake Erik of the evening’s floor-length rubber look, which sidestepped era-appropriate materials like lace and satin. “Christopher Kane, he’s going to do what he does.” Working alongside stylist Taylor Angino, who chose a 200-year-old emerald crown on loan from Fred Leighton, Erik was interested in using the hair as a bridge between the experimental dress and the exhibition’s time period.
“We wanted to see her neck, her shoulders, her back,” Erik says of the early discussions with Dorfman, which led them to a low bun—in this case, created with extra hair for length and a four-part braid for unexpected texture. The actor, sporting a fresh blonde dye job courtesy of colorist Jenna Perry’s in-demand balayage techniques, arrived to Erik’s chair with wet hair. “We were just really liking how her hair had dried naturally,” the hairstylist says of the face-framing curtain bangs. For a bit of styling hold, Erik subbed in Act+Acre’s Restorative hair mask as a leave-in conditioner—an off-label application that manages to smooth flyaways without the buildup of hairspray. Those newly bleached ends also appreciated a few drops of the brand’s hair oil, for nourishment and shine.
