All too often, we get stuck when we place people into boxes. Trying to categorize who they are stunts not only their expression but our creativity as stylists as well. In the latest collection — Neutral Ground — by Kerrie Di Mattia, the team explores creating hair without titles, without gender, and therefore without limits. Read on to hear exactly why Kerrie created this collection and how transformative the creation process was for them and their team.
“Neutral Ground is inspired by a realisation that we place limits on ourselves, our creativity and more importantly, limits on our clients when we see gender attached to hair! Last year we adopted Gender Neutral pricing in our salons & it was with this change our LBGTQI clientele grew tenfold. Sadly, along with that growth, it became evident that within our rural regional town, there was a definite lack of understanding & tolerance surrounding our local queer community.
That’s what it is, it’s gender-neutral. We’re catering to everyone, and also we want people to be comfortable asking for any type of haircut, whether it’s feminine, masculine, or androgynous. I wanted to bring awareness to & provoke conversation around hair & gender with a collection of simply styled, uncomplicated images focusing purely on beautiful hair on beautiful people who choose to just be themselves. Hair isn’t masculine or feminine, it’s wearable art, a suit of armour & a form of expression that gives you the freedom to lead with & look the way you feel!
Each model belongs to our local community, some LBGTQI & some not, but all completely on board with what I have created. The room was quite simply full of such a calm & loving energy, which I hope I captured in the images. There was a freedom & cohesion in their complete acceptance of one another! The hair was complemented by seamless glowing skin, the styling directive was to keep the fabrics & tones neutral, understated & organic in order for the earthy natural hair colours of each of the images to shine.”
Neutral Ground Collection
STYLING
“I wanted the styling to feel neither masculine or feminine, choosing colours that were simply as the name states – neutral. We chose to keep the fabrics natural & organic using pieces in Linen, Calico & Hemp in simple designs with clean uncomplicated lines.”
MAKEUP
“My brief for makeup was clean, simple, understated & neutral in tone, showing equal parts strength & softness in the placement of light & shade. As individually striking as the models are, the idea was to have the eye drawn immediately to & appreciate the beauty in the hair, then to take in the beauty of the person underneath.”
PHOTOGRAPHY
“The decision was made to have a simple yet textured backdrop with a diffused light. It was important that the background & lighting took a backseat to the strength & tones in the Hair first & then the model drawing the eye. Each image was cropped to where I felt the hair had the most impact.”
Credits:
HAIR: Kerrie Di Mattia
MAKEUP: Bill Fitzpatrick
STYLING: Candice Battersby
PHOTGRAPHY: Amber Toms
POST PRODUCTION: Peter Orlik
ASSISTANTS: Lauren Di Mattia Meg Lamrock
Ava Kroehnert Sandi Skennar DiMattia & Co Team
Kerrie Di Mattia is an Australian hairdresser and a FINALIST in the 2023 AHIAs Creative NSW/ACT Hairdresser of the Year.
