Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1189512
32 • THE ARTISAN SUMMER 2018 We often talked about these women being the original hippies; very forward-thinking, independent and without a lot of means. In order to tell the story of who the March sisters and their mother were through their hair, I wanted to create looks that were simple, accessible, unfussy, loose and free. It was vital that the hair move, therefore, hair spray was completely absent. The March sisters take their looks and ideas, including the way of doing their hair from their mother, Marmee (Laura Dern). I wanted her to set the tone. As the characters go from girls to young adults, we introduced subtle changes in their hair to indicate the passage of time and personal evolution of each character. For example, for Amy (Florence Pugh), at her young- est, she wears her hair in long braids with bangs; as she matures, the bangs go away and she moves into more sophisticated up-hairdos. For Beth (Eliza Scanlen), her hair fades slightly in color and gets thinner as her illness progresses. Jo (Saoirse Ronan) is our heroine with very long, wavy hair. She has a dramatic moment in the film when she cuts all that long hair off and sells it in an attempt to help the family's financial situation. None of our cast had the long hair of the period. The hair styles for Laura Dern, Saoirse Ronan, Eliza Scanlen, Emma Watson and Florence Pugh where achieved by using lace front wigs and three-quarter wigs. We used braiding, finger waving and ironing techniques to accom- plish the desired looks for these styles that take place over about 10 years. For the male characters in the movie, we left their hair mostly au natural—again, unfussy and real. Luckily, they all had great hair. Mr. Laurence, played by Chris Cooper, is a bit more groomed due to his stature and wealth. Department Head Hair Frida Aradottir (sunglasses) with cast and crew. Photos courtesy of Frida Aradottir