For Anna Sui’s Spring/Summer 2026 Desert Blooms collection. the fashion designer asked her frequent collaborator — legendary celebrity and editorial hairstylist Garren — to create artsy boho vibes to complement the line’s playful prairie silhouettes and flowing chiffons.
The collection is inspired by non-conformist young artists, writers, and activists of the 1920s who gathered at the famed arts colony Mabel Luhan Ranch in Taos, NM. “They invented their own style, and that inspired the colors and the fabrics,” Garren tells American Salon.
“It all came from that dynamic of being in the Southwest. The brief from Anna was that the hair was to be bohemian, but she also wanted a bit of Gibson in there,” he says, referring to the soft, voluminous updos of the 20s.
"Anna didn’t want to hair to be super shiny and conditioned. She wanted it to be kind of dried, and the texture to evolve from bedhead.”
Garren used R+Co BLEU products to create effortless-looking hair that appeared naturally tousled by desert winds, drawing inspiration from the creative, free-spirited personalities at the New Mexico arts haven — including artist Georgia O'Keeffe, photographer Ansel Adams, and writer D.H. Lawrence.
“It’s very ethereal in a way, and very bohemian. All the girls have very long hair. It is coming out of the 20’s, and hair at that point was very strict, very up and kind of Gibson-y," Garren says. “These young kids decided they wanted their hair down, to let loose, and break away from the norm."
The result: Gibson Girls gone hippie, with victory rolls coming loose from their formerly polished constraints and cascading into loose, flowing, undone locks.
“We did the hair half up, half down, which gives the hair softness with structure,” Garron says. “You have texture and movement on sides and back, and tendrils around the face.
“The look could have been created by braiding the hair in two loose braids before you go to sleep. That would give you that airy, wavy look that’s not too pristine,” he says.
“We’re not using a curling iron or wand like we’ve done in the past. We’re kind of relaxing what the girls have been doing — which is parting the hair down the middle with big waves, controlled by the curling iron. This wave pattern is more textured and disrupted.”
As founder of R+Co BLEU, Garren leaned on the brand’s Rose Water Wave Spray and Cult Classic Flexible Hairspray to do a lot of heavy lifting for the show. “Together, those products created a dry sensation to the hair,” he says.
“Rose Water Wave Spray gave the hair a dry-wave texture and encouraged disorder. My Mason Pearson brush allowed me to rough the hair up before I sprayed hair with Cult Classic Flexible Hairspray, which froze the hair into the look for the show so it wouldn’t collapse.”
Step by Step
- Shampoo, condition, and prep the scalp.
- Spray Essential Hair Tonic to wet hair as the base, letting strands air dry.
- Using a curling iron, create rough, natural-looking waves throughout the hair.
- Divide the hair into two sections. Tease the top section to build volume. Create two Gibson-esque victory rolls towards the crown of the head, keeping loose tendrils framing the face.
- Enhance waves using Rose Water Wave Spray, scrunching into hair, then using a diffuser or letting the hair finish air drying.
- Complete the look with Cult Classic Flexible Hairspray.