Still winning, even after the Olympics! Final Five gymnasts Simone Biles, Aly Raisman and Madison Kocian traded their leotards for gowns at the 2017 Golden Globes in Beverly Hills on Sunday, January 8. The girls graciously gave Stylish a behind-the-scenes glance at their glam sessions with Matrix Style Link Celebrity Stylists Nick Stenson and George Papanikolas, who gave the trio wavy hairdos that lasted all night.
Biles, 19, didn’t mind stepping out of her comfort zone for such a high-profile evening. “She is known for having her hair up, so we wanted to switch that!” Stenson, who also works with Keltie Knight, reveals. To create a softness that complemented the structure of her Alexis Monsanto gown with a gold embroidered bodice and blush skirt, he used lots of texturizer. “I applied it before blow drying, then again once the hair was dry before curling,” he says. “I alternated a rope curl pattern throughout the entire head, then created a deep part for a soft side-sweep finish. Once the curls were placed, I broke them up for softness.”
Papanikolas, a favorite of Rashida Jones and Hailey Baldwin, created loose curls for Raisman, 22, with a different product: mousse. “She already has amazing hair but I really wanted to maximize the volume and body that her hair has,” Papanikolas notes of the athlete, who wore an orange off-the-shoulder Faviana number. “Mousse is key to apply prior to blow drying for volume. I used a 1-inch curling iron and created the Marcelle waves. The waves are always a classic look on the red carpet.”
And for Kocian, 19, texture was the name of the game. “It’s a departure from her usual stick-straight hair,” Papanikolas said. To accompany the Olympian’s navy blue Rita Vinieris column dress, the pro dried her hair and created all-around curls using a half-inch iron. Once all the hair was curled, he applied Matrix StyleLink Mineral Play Back Dry Shampoo ($18, matrix.com) as a finishing touch.
