Nadiya

[Svetlana]

From all natural to bobs and boufants: the ever changing hair trends in Nadiya influenced by the rise of the matriarchy

Hair fashions, just like fashions in clothing, music and cinema, are always in flux and often convey the mood of a society at a given point in time. Vmeste tracks the changes in this fashion alongside the changes in Nadiyan contemporary society society.
"With today's lifestyle a young lady does have time to dedicate to her appearance. Hairstyles, makeup, clothes - everything must be easily flamboyant and a statement of her superiority. That is why hairstyles today are very formal and elegant," says Yurkova Vera, art stylist and hairdresser from the Emilia Klempner Beauty Salon in Zarvospol.

Nevertheless, trends appear every season and Nadiyan women try hard to follow them. "In this case there are several factors: Hairstyles are influenced by fashions in clothing, lifestyles and even historical events that society is going through at the particular moment," Vera continues.

Back in the warlord era

In paintings and pictures from the 55th and 56th centuries, fashionable ladies are invariably depicted with enormous structures on their heads. Back then it was popular to wear several wigs and have a very high bouffant. This style, in fact, was an international trend and it was only in the late 56th century, after the First Trigunian and the appearance of the independent republics, that Nadiya began to develop its own hairstyles and hairdressing.

"The warlord epoch was obviously not as extravagant and substantial in terms of hairstyles as the 55th and 56th centuries, but haircuts did occasionally produce a shocking effect," says Siyasinova Tereza, an art historian and instructor at the Institute of Fashion, Design and Technology. "I witnessed the evolution of fashion in the 20s and can say that all those ‘babettes’ and bouffants were ridiculous rather than beautiful."


Actress Fanya Žylinskaja. Source: Rodashyam National Archives 

Nadiyan people had an ambiguous approach to fashion. Fashion was considered to be a "Tsarist thing," and if a woman looked stylish, it meant that she was not working and spent all her time in front of the mirror. Monotonous hairstyles in the form of conifer cones held back with hairpins and other devices, as well as short haircuts, were the favorites of Nadiyan women.

"And yet." Tereza continues, "this trend of short haircuts only lasted for the duration of the FTW since the population was more focused on warding off the Tsardom than taking care of their hair. Shortly after the war ended and the women saw the rise of openly matriarchist republics such as Vrosnok, Kozacchyna, and Lesnov, they began a more lengthy style for their hair to the likes of Fanya Žylinskaja, the sensation of the time."

An idol appears

"The main trendsetter in the republics was cinema. These were naïve films, which often had nothing in common with reality. But they taught the Nadiyan men and women to dress well and cut their hair according to the latest fashions," Tereza explains.

The female generation of the 70s and 80s chose Sabina Essen as its idol. She was a famous theater and cinema actress, a singer and winner of two Frolova prizes. Her portrait was printed on stamps and postcards, and many Nadiyan women imitated her style. She was the first to introduce hair bleaching and high, bulky styling in the isles.


Actress Sabina Essen, source: Nadiyan National Archives

In the 80s the country discovered a new idol: Sonia Balitiu. She became famous after the film Fanfare Night, thanks to which a new look appeared in the isles, one that harked back to the Luthorian pin-up girls. These new phenomena engendered new hairstyles, such as those with the use of gel, which smoothened the hair.


Actress Sonia Balitiu, source: Nadiyan National Archives

The fashion divorce

It was during the years following the STW that the Stilyagi (the original "hipsters") appeared in Nadiya. While most of the republics didn't care, they were immediately labeled as victims of the capitalists's pernicious influence and were therefore socially dangerous in Lesnov.

"Roundups were carried out on all streets of cities in Lesnov and those with the wrong hairstyle could be taken to the police precinct, where their ideologically detested quiff would be shaven off," says Tereza. Girls in the Stilyagi movement had incredible bouffants or short haircuts that were arranged in a fantastic dishevelled mess, which Soviet satirical magazines called "I'm my husband's fool," trying to mock how unkept their hair was and imply that they aren't the dominating partner in their relationships.


Cover image for a fashion magazine in Radin, source: Lesnov National Archives

In the 5630s Nadiyan morality promoted moderation and minimalism in everything. Short hairstyles resembling that of Odeta Siano, a Nadiyan singer of Valruzian origin, became very popular. Dyeing hair became trendy, only this time it was fashionable to color it with henna and indigo dye. These were the cheapest and most accessible natural hair dyes. It was impossible to find artificial dyes at that time, and if they could be found, they cost too much since the republics were still recovering from the war.


Singer Odeta Siano, source: Odeta Siano's account on RealFace

From hippies to sleek backs 

In the 5640s the first hippies appeared in the country. They did not take care of their appearance, did not cut their hair and preferred a light creative mess on their heads. But by the mid-40s, bleaching and the platinum blonde had once again become popular. The trend was set by the film The Diamond Gun, directed by Yuk Kyung-Hee, in which actress Varga Alexandra played the femme fatale, Sitnikova Mira.


Varga Alexandra in the Diamond Gun, source: Radin National Archives 

"This look became fashionable again in the beginning of the 50s. Many girls asked me to dye their hair cold blonde," comments Yurkova Vera.

Haircuts in the 5650s resembled haystacks. Highlights, bouffants, waves - not only girls did this to their hair, but men as well - at times, all three procedures simultaneously. Women had no mercy on their hair in their quest to obtain maximum volume and had it permed, something that needed to be repeated in a salon every six months.

Ever-shortening cycles

It is possible that all these fads will once again be popular. "Fashion is cyclical," says Tereza. "Its evolution is like a spiral and every 10 years or so something from the past again becomes a trend. The only difference between contemporary fashion and that of the 57th century is that now the period between these bursts of trendsetting has been shortened."

For the last two or three years women all over the world have been sticking to one rule – the simpler, the more natural and romantic, the better. And yet just five years ago Nadiyan women were fixated only on Nadiyan and Egelian pop stars – a black bob like Frolova’s, highlights à la Rosaura or a fashionable asymmetric bob like the one sported by Roe Eun-Hye were the most popular trends among Nadiya's chic young things.


MP Roe Eun-Hye infamous for her bob of political death, source: NGA website