My Recent Work

Posted by antonio gonzales at 9:27 AM - 2 comments

Introducing Upcoming Fashion Designer Linda Abdalla

Recently I was approached by a young student at Parsons who was busy creating a fashion collection for her senior thesis. She explained that long-term, she was trying to launch her own line, but she'd also be very happy to work for a company that she believed in....and that she needed someone to help do hair for her project. I loved her passion and energy and found her incredibly inspirational, so I agreed to assist her during the shoot. Having loved the grunge inspired hair from Saint Laurent at Paris fashion week by Orlando Pita  , we decided grunge hair would perfect for her shoot.

Here's her story. 

First thank you for agreeing to do this. How long have you been attending Parsons?

 I have been attending Parsons for 4 years (7 months of those years spent abroad) 

Who or What inspired you to get into fashion?

I’ve always been interested in the arts when I was younger (drawing, painting, graphic design, photography) so attending an art & design school was inevitable. I also moved around a lot during my childhood and coming from my inherited (Sudanese) culture where there are regulations (or judgment) & connotations placed on what women vs men should wear, mixed with my western culture (being raised mostly in the US), their clash in values & identity or globalization in general is exciting to me and pushing those boundaries/limitations. 

Who are your favorite designers?

Alaïa, Yohji, Haider & Dries

What was the inspiration behind your collection?

Boxing (the sport) referencing the uniforms & environment of the boxers through a juxtaposition of fabrics & techniques using menswear patterns as a base 

Where is your favorite place to buy fabric?

In NYC: B&J, Libra Leather

Where in fashion do you see yourself in 5 years? 

Hopefully working for a company that I truly believe in whether it be in the US or abroad.
 
What would you say to any young person who is thinking about getting into fashion? 

Intern, Intern! Travel if you can, start sewing right away (whether it be taking already made garments apart and putting it back together) because knowledge of construction is important. Be humble, patient & curious.

 

Posted by antonio gonzales at 10:05 AM - 1 comments

Do Not Be Bullied In To Looking Like Someone You're Not (My Message To Teenaged Girls Living In Homeless Shelters.)

After completing my second workshop with teenaged girls on individuality, beauty and bullying, I felt extremely moved to share my experience.

Please keep in mind that these teenage girls all live in a homeless shelter, for now...

The first question I asked the room was have you ever been bullied? We all raised our hands. The second question was have you ever bullied someone? We all raised our hands...

When asked to describe what it felt like to be bullied, the girls provided answers that were very similar. Some felt sad, their feelings were hurt or angry.  Overall they agreed that it made them feel horrible as often wondered,...why me.

The group opened up as to some reasons they were bullied, be it their hair was too kinky, their weight or their living situation.

I explained my personal experiences being bullied because I was poor, gay or too fair. I further explained how 25 years later I've come to realize that these were the things that make me unique. The things that make Antonio special.

I reminded them that each one of them are different to each other and that uniqueness should be celebrated... from your body size, to your hair to even your teeth (just to name a few.)

We made a promise to be more aware of our actions when it comes to our opinions and to be sensitive to the feelings of others.

I then asked who were their female heros, women that they admired, that they wanted to be like. All the girls praised the women in their lives, mothers, grandmothers etc. One girl in particular replied, "I want to be like my mother, because she stood up for me and loves me. She taught me no matter how difficult things may seem, you deserve to respected."

I end by saying, any challenges I may have faced in my past with the women in my childhood were washed away by the energy and love from these beautiful young girls.

Thank you to all my friends that donated copies of the book The Giver by Lois Lowry, which each girl received a copy of.

 And for all the wonderful cosmetics and hair accessories that were also donated.

Posted by antonio gonzales at 8:20 PM - 0 comments

Alyssa Edwards : Drop Dead Gorgeous - Music Video

After not feeling inspired to blog for a month, I saw this video and I gagged!!!!!! Alyssa Edwards, thank you for a funny, fierce and tasty video baby!

Posted by antonio gonzales at 5:52 AM - 0 comments

Daenery From Game Of Thrones And Her Hair

With the surge of big budget TV shows captivating larger and larger audiences, I had no choice but to give in to curiosity and check a few of them out. I kept hearing about one show in particular, Games Of Thrones....and within five minutes of the first episode, I was hooked. Not only is there scandal, sex and sweet drama, but the costumes and hair are definitely worth checking out.

I've grown to love one character in particular, Daenery. She is a beautiful blond princess who, as a young beauty, was taken advantage of, but manages to rise from the fire (literally) to become a strong, brave leader. With long blond, textured hair, her look also really adds to make her character one of the most interesting on TV today. Her hair actually reminds me of a look from one of my favorite music videos, Bedtime Stories by Madonna, (hair done by Orlando Pita.) Here are images from both beauties...see the similarities. 

The show's stylist is Kevin Alexander and he's in charge of all the hair styles for each character. Great job Kevin!

Well as we all know, fashion and hair trends tend to repeat themselves and will continue to, with highly talented people leaving their individual mark.

Amen to great hair!

The show's hairstylist is Kevin Alexander and he's in charge of all the wigs for each character. Great job Kevin!

Well as we all know, fashion and hair trends tend to repeat themselves and will continue to, with highly talented people leaving their individual mark.

Amen to great hair!

And if you were not born when this master piece was created, this is for you!

Posted by antonio gonzales at 5:59 PM - 0 comments

Kate Moss For French Vogue- Hair By My Boss Orlando Pita

I had the pleasure of sitting with Orlando Pita in the salon today and talked about this shoot. Here it is guy's, hair by the always inspirational Orlando Pita.

Photographed by Mario Testino
Stylist- Sarajane Hoare
Makeup- Tom Pecheux

Posted by antonio gonzales at 7:42 PM - 0 comments

Helping Displaced Families

Once again I was given the opportunity to spend two hours with single mothers at the Shelter for displaced families.

The focus of this workshop was to identify the negative things that were said to us as kids, our most formative years. Be it from parents, extended family or society in general, these words tend to leave lasting emotional scars.

I started off with my own experience where, at age 6, I was constantly teased for being gay. I remember one aunt in particular, who always made me feel ashamed. I talked about how it took me years before I was able to respect myself as a gay man.

This opened a flood gate of emotions from the group, as they recalled all the negative things that stuck with them as both children and as adults today. At the end we all agreed that saying to a child "I love you" goes a long way, and as adults we deserve to be treated with respect.

Then I introduced my guest, Kimora Link, a personal trainer who loves people, period. Mr. Link operates a fun and effective bootcamp in Harlem that I attend.

He answered questions from the ladies and encouraged them to love themselves as they are. Mr. Link expressed that his job is to help women be a better and healthier version of themselves. "We are not all meant to be thin, but we all benefit from being healthy," summed up his message.

What attracted me to Kimora is his "Project Link Kids 2 Fitness," with its motto, "Lead and they will follow, give our children a jumpstart on a path to life!"

Mr. Link firmly believes that what a parent does, sets the stage for how their kids will behave. He encourages families to workout together with special classes which cater to those needs. At the end of the workshop, Mr. Link and I presented each woman with a t-shirt emblazoned with the statement, "I Believe In Me." We had so much fun!!

Thanks to my friend, Lori Lynch and friends for providing donations and making the gifts and t-shirts possible.

Stay tuned for the next workshop which is my first one for single fathers living in homeless shelters.

Posted by antonio gonzales at 7:24 PM - 0 comments

Kerastase Chroma Cristal

With so many hair product companies claiming to give your hair intense shine, I thought I should share my favorite. Reflection Chroma Cristal is by far one of the best hair styling sprays I have used in a very long time.

This light weight hair spray is what it promises. It's not heavy or greasy or full of silicone. Plus it smells great without the strong alcohol smell.

Application-  Rather than doing an overall application with Relaxation Chroma Crystal and then blowdrying, I like to apply the product to the hair, section by section (as I dry). This allows me to apply the product evenly without overusing it.

It's amazing for color treated and dry hair and can be used together with a hair dryer. So for the ladies with extensions, this is a great "pick-me-up" for your hair, taking away any dullness.

Here we have it, a hair styling spray for all hair types.

Posted by antonio gonzales at 10:58 AM - 4 comments

Volunteering For Kids

One of the great things about teenage girls is their love of anything to do with hair and makeup. I recently experienced this excitement at a homeless shelter in our very own Brooklyn.

As I walked into the room, many of the young ladies greeted me with big smiles. We jumped right in to why I was there, discussing the pressures and frustrations they face to look a certain way. How daily the press and media backed by advertising, preaches their idea of whats beautiful . We then explored how each of them defined beauty and why. 

We also discussed the importance of individuality and ways to express it while understanding its importance.

In a world where women are encouraged to look like someone else, it is important to show these young ladies the importance of looking like themselves...with an added sparkle.

I showed them realistic practices on how they can look after their hair and skin along with the tools they can use. And we discussed the false advertising that the beauty industry sometimes promote. Afterwards I presented each girl with a gift bag of amazing hair products and tools. They loved it!!

A special thanks to Orlando Pita and Mr. Casson for their very generous gifts and to Melissa of Sweet Elite Cakes in Brooklyn. I called Melissa without and asked if she could donate cupcakes for the workshop and she responded right away with a gracious yes! Needless to sat, they were divine!

I look forward to the following workshop with the girls on March 25th. If anyone would like to know more about what I do please feel free to contact me. These smart beautiful girls deserve our support.

Love to all!

Posted by antonio gonzales at 7:36 AM - 0 comments

H&M At Paris Fashion Week- Hair By Orlando Pita

I was excited to learn that H&M graced Paris Fashion week with its presence. Yes baby, H&M is certainly stepping up its game by putting on a beautiful show with beautiful designs.

Looking at the video you can see the models having fun and almost dancing through the crowd. The hair was equally as sexy, bouncing effortlessly. We can thank Orlando Pita for the hair. :)

Check out the video and images. Enjoy and share!

     

Posted by antonio gonzales at 9:33 AM - 0 comments

Hair Style Options For an "all Natural" Woman

Today's article is about embracing your natural hair while most importantly, maintaining a healthy scalp. I chose to focus on very basic looks, keeping it simple and real so my readers can relate. I even took these pictures with my iphone. :)

When I first met this model, she told me that she sometimes wears her hair straight. The key word here is "sometimes..." i.e. she is not addicted to straight hair or hair extensions. So I went ahead and showed her different ways to style her hair where it won't damage her hairline.

The first look is in her natural state. 

For the second look I decided to blow dry her hair straight. If you wear your hair naturally curly and use a lot of hair oils, I recommend using a clarifying shampoo to remove any build up on the hair before blow drying. After a shampoo and quick towel dry, I added Kerastase Elixir Oil to help get her hair smooth and protect it from the heat. After blow drying it, I added a tiny bit of the Hamadi Healing Serum before flat ironing her hair.

The third look uses clip in extensions to give her length. Clip in extensions allow a woman to take them out and put them in whenever she feels like it. Buying the hair myself, I get to choose the right hair match and appropriate clips to get a perfect fit. This works better than buying extensions that already have clips on them. Just keep in mind, the overuse of extensions are very hard on the scalp, causing hair breakage and permanent scalp damage.

And for the fourth look, I added a fake bang, which totally changed her appearance! Again I bought the bang/fringe and blended them to match the rest of the hair.

           Below are a few tips from this model on how she styles her hair.

Antonio- What products do you use in your hair?

Alexius- I prefer TRESemme Moisture Rich shampoo to clean my hair followed by Pantene's Moisture Balance Conditioner -- I love how thick the formula is. For a deep conditioning I use Deep Moisturizing Treatment from Pantene's Curly Hair Series. After towel drying my hair, I use Mixed Chicks Leave in Conditioner to moisturize and maintain my curls.

What do you like about wearing your hair natural?
 I like looking in the mirror and seeing an untouched version of myself...especially after I've just washed my hair. The way my curls naturally grow from my scalp makes me smile.  Loving the raw version of myself, helps me love the uber-glam version even more because at the root, I appreciate the natural me.

Did you always wear it natural? 
No, I've been natural for about 7 years. I wore sew-in extensions in high school and had my hair straightened via perms since age 8. I had braces and acne in high school, so long hair extensions allowed me to literally hide behind my insecurities. I don't miss those hours in the salon.

What would you say to young women who have natural hair but still feel insecure in a world of weaves and extensions?
Embrace what makes you different. Having natural hair doesn't mean you are restricted to just wearing your hair natural. Wear your curls free in a 'fro, pin the sides and have a 'fro hawk, tuck and shape your hair into a bouffant a la Janelle Monae. Being natural doesn't mean you cannot utilize a wig to change up your look. Do a twist set, put on a wig cap and wear a fabulous wig while your style sets. Options are my favorite reason for being natural. You can easily get a blow out if you would like to wear your own straight hair as well.

Posted by antonio gonzales at 8:27 AM - 0 comments

Tom Ford RTW 2013 Hair By Orlando Pita

Talk about fresh off the runway! Orlando Pita finished the Tom Ford show in London, flew to L.A. and just came straight to the salon from the airport. To my excitement he gave us a demo of the hair from the Tom Ford show.

As usual, it's a beauty of a hairstyle and as usual it was not easy to do. :) Orlando took long hair, sectioned it into two and tucked the hair into a smooth, clean twist on the lower neck.

Check out the below images showcasing both Mr. Ford's beautiful clothing and Orlando's amazing work.

Thanks Orlo!

Posted by antonio gonzales at 7:54 PM - 0 comments

Michael Kors Fashion Week Hair by Orlando Pita

Great job Orlando Pita!!

Posted by antonio gonzales at 9:11 AM - 0 comments