JAMO magazine March 2019 / 51th Issue | Page 18

JAMO | BEAUTY Center Parts Are Coming your way this Season There were two tools that won the popularity contest back- stage at New York Fashion Week: Steady fingers and rat-tail combs. Both were used by many stylists (and a few models) to create center parts on symmetrical face after symmetrical face. This is slightly alarming for those of us whose faces are less perfectly symmetrical because a center part is not widely regarded as flattering. “Does everyone have a middle part?” an editor anxiously asked backstage at Longchamp during an interview with Redken’s creative director Guido Palau. She seemed to already know the answer, and Palau seemed to sense her concern. “Everyone kind of just, optionally leaned toward it … but, yes,” he replied. “It’s done with a finger, so it feels easy,” he added as a consolation of sorts. Center parts are also just inherently tricky. Professionals who work with the genetically blessed say that finding your true center part is difficult, even for them. “It’s one of the hardest things for people to do,” said Gary Gill, the lead hairstylist responsible for the center parts at 3.1 Phillip Lim. “I even take a while sometimes,” he admits. Obviously, Fashion Week doesn’t serve as a mandate to turn your world askew and change the way your hair falls just because beautiful people look good doing it. But should you feel inclined, fall 2019’s runways had enough center-part inspiration every day for two weeks. March 2019 | ISSUE 51