As a long-time collaborator of Baz Luhrmann, it was Kerry Warn, international creative consultant for John Frieda who was given the onerous task of designing, creating and maintaining the  marcel waves of the (gigantic) cast of the Great Gatsby. Here, he exclusively lifts the lid on just what level of hair craftsmanship goes into one of the biggest film productions of all time.

'We immediately had to put ourselves in a time zone - the 20s. But, you have to remember that 20s New York was pretty out there. Looking at our references of the time, it appeared as though everything was built for speed – cars were faster and the first aeroplanes were flying. And also with the way women were dressing. Baz was always saying, ‘imagine at the time, all these women were all suddenly chopping their hair off and so were considered quite racy.’ They were pushing boundaries, getting rid of all the Victoriana of before.'  

 

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'We wanted to use those 20s influences – Louise Brooks, Josephine Baker and Clara Bow – but we also wanted to give the hair a modern twist. So, everything was as cat-like as possible, hair styled quite close to the head and finger waves with an edge. Instead of doing the classic thing – finger waves to the side - we did them directed slightly more forwards. I used John Frieda Frizz Ease Serum, £6.29 and John Frieda Moisture Barrier hairspray, £5.59 on everyone. Because we were filming in 3D we had to be more conscious of the movement from all angles.' 

 

‘Carey would come in with wet hair, I’d prep it, comb it, let it dry naturally, go over it with a hair dryer and smooth with irons till it was flat and sleek and she had those big curls around her ears. Isla’s hair was a more complicated Clara bow look – more tousled and a bit more bad-gal. Carey plays a society girl whereas Isla plays a character from the wrong side of the tracks.’ 

 

‘Before filming began, we started with six weeks of workshops and fittings on around 100 extras so the hair team could learn to do the marcel wave properly. And it’s not easy – those who weren’t comfortable doing we got doing something else. We couldn’t have anyone with highlighted or bleached hair – because that didn’t come into play until the 30s with Jean Harlow and then it was looser and softer, so we used wigs on a few of the extras. It needed to be short – above the hairline to be in keeping with the period. Anyone willing to have their cut made our day!

We had to cope with rain, humidity [the film was shot in Sydney] and dancing. The hair was controlled so it couldn’t go anywhere which made it harder to prep but easier to maintain. I would go around looking for pin curls to make a bit higher, a bit tighter - I was sort of like the hair police.’