Friends of Bettie: Vintage Hair Lounge Create Gang Girls


Maddy Hobbs. Photography by Scott Chalmers

The 10th April 2011 was an extremely sunny day in Southampton, the day on which Gang Girls was shot. Unit base was our High Street salon Vintage Hair Lounge and from 8.30am we were all hands on deck to create the hair and make-up looks for our retro girl gang played by Shana Swash, Maddy Hobbs and Chloe Cruse.

With Classy Chassis clothing taking care of the costume, with some great accessories provided by London film Costume Designer Andrew Joslin, weeks of concept design went swiftly in to action, with the key inspiration for the looks from Nancy Sinatra, Twiggy and Brigitte Bardot.


Gloria Holloway and Julia Jones work on hair for Maddy Hobbs. Photography by Scott Chalmers

Gloria Holloway and Julia Jones work on hair for Maddy Hobbs. Photography by Scott Chalmers

Once our photographer Scott Chalmers arrived to do some shots in Southampton's Oxford Street before the main event, we welcomed the arrival of the delightful Shana Swash and fifty scooters that caused quite a stir pitching up outside the salon ready to start the shoot.


Sharon Holloway works on make-up for Shana Swash. Photography by Scott Chalmers

Sharon Holloway works on make-up for Shana Swash. Photography by Scott Chalmers

By 12 noon we were ready to set up for the first shots in the nearby French Quarter City Walls. This is where the film opens and we see the Shana's gang awaiting the arrival of her new scooter followers.

In an extraordinary feat of organisation and enthusiasm, and notwithstanding the baking sun, we quickly moved on to the Red Funnel terminal outside Kuti's Royal Thai Pier before finishing the afternoon in the Town Quay car park, which stretches out in to Southampton's River Test, a great sea front backdrop which didn't disappoint. We wrapped the shoot at 4.30pm. In just 4 hours Vintage Hair Lounge had made a film!