Date: 3 September 1981
Originally published in: Bravo (Germany)
Written by: Mirgit Ritti
A Bravo exclusive! Photos from an experiment, which went totally wrong. Since this session Kim has an aversion against hairdressers.
Like a small heap of misfortune Kim Wilde sits in a London Fotostudio on a cloudy September morning in 1980. In one of her beloved striped T-shirts, in jeans and her lion-like hairstyle, she had come to let the first large photo session of her life come over her. And now she didn’t recognise herself anymore… Record boss Mickie Most had hired in Englands most experienced make-up lady to “make something of” Kim. She immediately began to try and tame Kims wild hairstyle with comb and blowdryer.
“An image should be sought for Kim”, an eye-witness remembers. Kim was dressed in four different clothes, one after the other. Thick chains and earrings were tried on her, after which Elanka had scrubbed her face.
“When they were ready with me, I looked to myself and thought I was my grandmother”, Kim stated afterwards. She was not in agreement anyway with what occured there with her, but dared not to intervene herself.
When Mickie Most saw the photos afterwards, he was shocked and declared the pictures should remain secret. The pictures disappeared in a safety deposit. Since then Kim may appear as she wants herself, loosely and natural.
Since she had made her lion mane her hair style in the mean time, she tells how she developed it and how she treas it: it started with a “Linda-McCartney” hairstyle for five years (Linda had long, smooth hair with level cut on top). From there, Kim developed her own trademark hairstyle (she cuts it herself).
Kim: “Just take any shampoo that is in the house. No soft flushing, that’s poison for my hair anyway.
I highlight my own dark hair. With Clairol, and almost every two months. I do some extra blonde toning in some places to create a blonde fiery effect.
I basically don’t brush my hair, because it would become too flat. In the mornings I go through my hair with my fingers, to keep it full and fluffy. When I blowdry, I do it from the root up, and use my fingers to make the hair dry.
Kim only wears make-up during live appearances and when she goes out. In her make-up bag there aren’t many things: brown eyeshadow, rouge, in order to accentuate her cheekbones, and quite bright teint powder.
