Beauty: Join the pony club

Lonely Hearts summer campaign. Photo / Stephen Tilley

Classic with a kick is the look for summer hair.

The classic ponytail will rule this summer, predicts Lauren Gunn, creative director at Stephen Marr. It will be reincarnated Kate Moss-style with a quirky beach texture.

"Wear it low slung at the nape and head-hugging tight, but be sure to give it an edge." The way to do this, is by toughen it up with a messy top layer, carefully crafted flyaways and a tail that is fat and matt.

An example is the look she came up with for the Lonely Hearts summer campaign, in which she used "a bit of magic scrunch action with our fingertips, no blowdryer required". The hair matches the mood of the collection which is all about freedom, with detailed clothes in washed-out neutral tones and texture coming from sandwashed silks and buttery leathers.

Despite being in the middle of the Fashion Week rush focusing on winter 2012, Gunn says she is ready for a rapid rewind.

"With an extra four minutes of sunshine each day, summer is on my mind and I can't wait for the moment when the summer collections hit the stores."

Heavy winter fringes are out, says Gunn, recommending that women lighten them up with some texture and layering. "Be brutal with long hair, chop it to a workable mid-length and play with waves."

Makeup-wise from the summer shoots Gunn has worked on, she says skin will glow with bronzers and highlighters. "Add some pep to summer skin with frosty pink lips, it's been some time since we've seen frosted lip colour and its back with a vengeance this season."

Servilles which has also been in Fashion Week overdrive, says colour-wise expect hair with rich luscious, blended tones designed to enhance natural colouring. They are loving the reds that have been around for a while, but are pushing these to the extreme with bright coppers and rich carmines.

Beachy blonde is going to be everywhere this summer, they say, for a natural sun-kissed surfer look. Platinum blonde also shows with shades of soft pink, green, peach and baby blues or to the other extreme with bold bright fluorescent pinks, greens and blues.

Style-wise, Servilles says hair is getting shorter. The trick is to keep it feminine and sexy while still being edgy and modern. They also predict some longer textured bobs and textured styles on or below the shoulders. Whatever the length, versatile and practical is what women want.

Look out for messy voluminous side ponytails or plaits.

That's racy

A statement pony tail is an easy option for a dressy day out, it looks jaunty rather than try-hard and can also work well under a hat or fascinator for weddings or the races. Here's a how-to from Chad Gray of Atelier Hair in Remuera.

Step 1: Section out the top section and clip out of the way. Gather the remaining hair and back comb the back and sides before securing with elastic. (The pony should sit in the centre of the back of the head, a little higher than the top of your ears).

Step 2: Back comb the top section leaving out your fringe area, if you have shorter lengths. Use an elastic to secure the top section to the bottom pony

Step 3: Wrap a ribbon of hair around the elastic to hide it. Secure with pins. Finish with spray. (Gray recommends Goldwell StyleSign Big Finish.)