KURO IS JOINING FORCES WITH ANDREW O'TOOLE FOR THE LAUNCH COLLECTION SHOOT

The photo series is the brainchild of Bianca van Zwieten. The Creative Director and co-founder of KURO wants to display the brand’s DNA by means of an art shoot with an abundance of colour, shape and unwearable avantgardistic hair. Bianca drew inspiration from the work of various artists, including Yayoi Kusama and Rei Kawakubo and translated this to various hairstyles. Bianca: “It's very difficult to get hair colour, shape and texture properly photographed and I didn't want it to look like a ‘nice try, better luck next time'. That's why I quickly turned to Andrew O'Toole, one of the best hair photographers in the world." The Creative Director contacted the photographer and after seeing the concept, the collaboration was a fact. Australia-based O'Toole would not be visiting the Netherlands until after KURO was launched, so Bianca booked a return trip to Melbourne.

Hair as the star of the picture

The creative duo worked together with a local team of models, make-up artists, stylists, and assistants. “On location, I spent a day preparing in the studio and a day later we shot all looks in one day. Three of the five models we also coloured. That was quite a challenge. Fortunately, we worked with great models, who also gave us complete carte blanche."

Over the past fifteen years, Bianca van Zwieten has worked with well-known photographers numerous times. Still, O’Toole (working for the most renown hair brands in the world) had been at the top of her list for some time. “O’Toole is the best in the industry. He fathoms the aesthetics of hair as no other. He has an unerring sense of which angle to shoot from. Even when working with striking looks, he makes sure the hair remains 'the star of the picture'. At the same time, he still retains a certain authenticity in the photo. The hair is art, but the models remain real people. That's unique."

Vintage haute couture Comme des Garçons

To create volumes in the pictures, the creative minds worked with vintage haute couture-pieces of Comme des Garçons, a huge inspiration for the KURO brand. Bianca: “When I was creating the mood board, I knew it would be extremely difficult to get a hold of these pieces. But as it happened, O'Toole knew a stylist and passionate Comme des Garçons collector who wanted to collaborate on this project. Seeing all these rare pieces on one rack during the shoot day was bizarre. Yes, the hair, the image, the iconic garments; everything came together that day."