Vinyl
Ruth Roche
Why Judges Responded
Vinyl earned significant recognition because it embodied the spirit of creative risk-taking. The collection challenged conventional approaches, blending engineering, sculpture, photography, and hair design into something entirely its own.
Judges often respond to work that pushes the craft forward—not simply because of the final image, but because of the vision, experimentation, and artistic growth required to create it. Vinyl transformed hairdressing into an art form, and that commitment to innovation resonated throughout the industry.
Nominations
Publications
Creative Team
Hair Team
The Vision: Hair as Vinyl Art
Roche’s concept was born out of a desire to create something intensely structural, high-sheen, and boundary-pushing for the NAHA Editorial category. Instead of traditional fluid hair movement, the collection treats hair as a rigid, reflective medium.
The Silhouette
The pieces feature incredibly sharp, geometric shapes—including massive, hyper-smooth discs, sweeping parabolic curves, and stacked architectural structures that perfectly mimic the grooves and glossy finish of vinyl records.
The Sheen
The collection uses intense rim lighting and projection mapping to create an artificial, metallic reflection on the dark, flawless surfaces of the hair structures, selling the illusion that the model is wearing actual melted or molded vinyl.
Behind the Scenes
After months of development, Vinyl arrived in the studio as a fully realized concept. What followed was a day of refinement, collaboration, and execution as Ruth Roche, Joseph Cartright, and the team worked to transform sculptural hair into award-worthy imagery.
These behind-the-scenes moments reveal the process behind the final photographs and the collective effort required to bring the collection to life.
The “Mad Scientist” Technique
Ruth Roche has noted that bringing this collection to life required tapping into her background in mechanical engineering rather than just standard salon styling.
Because the sheer volume and weight of these rigid, vinyl-like disc shapes couldn’t be supported by natural hair mechanics, the production required an unconventional, industrial toolkit:
- An Electric Carving Knife: Used to sculpt the dense internal foundational forms and foam blocks needed to support the massive shapes.
- Industrial Construction: The inner framework relied heavily on wire, nails, and heavy-duty adhesives to anchor the pieces.
- The Finish: Redken Guts 10 (volume spray foam) and meticulous brushing with a classic Mason Pearson brush were used to lay the external hair fibers perfectly flat over the engineered structures, completely hiding the internal framework and creating that flawless, micro-grooved vinyl texture.
A Creative Deadline: Roche famously stated that she uses entering NAHA as a “creative kick in the butt.” For this specific collection, she committed to a shoot date before even finalizing how to solve the massive engineering challenge of the shapes, forcing the “mad scientist” execution under pressure.
Gallery Event at the Copacabana
The collection brought to life under nightclub lights—rim-lit sheen, projection mapping, and the energy of a live gallery event at the Copacabana.
Gallery Showcase
The finished collection on display—structural silhouettes, high-sheen surfaces, and the vinyl-record illusion captured in a controlled gallery setting.
What Stayed With Me
More than anything, Vinyl reaffirmed what an extraordinary artist Ruth Roche is. For years I’ve had the privilege of watching her pursue ideas that many would dismiss as impossible, only to transform them into work that challenges expectations and expands what our industry believes hair can be.
The greatest takeaway from this project wasn’t a technique, a photograph, or even the recognition that followed. It was a reminder of how fortunate I am to do this work and to collaborate with artists of this caliber. Over the years I’ve worked alongside incredibly talented people, each bringing their own vision, passion, and courage to the creative process.
Like most artists, I’ve experienced the doubts, uncertainty, fear, and questions that inevitably accompany a creative life. Projects like Vinyl remind me why we continue. The opportunity to create meaningful work with remarkable people is a reward in itself. Whatever recognition may follow, the real gift is getting to live the adventure.