Written by Helene Ravlich on her blog  www.mshelene.com Thursday April 15 2010.

As well as being a bloody great guy, Ryder salon owner Greg Murrell is one hell of a talented hair stylist both in the salon, behind the scenes and on the runway. He has had a long-standing role as one of the key creatives in the collaborative process that goes into producing the runway shows and campaigns for my favourite local label Zambesi for many years now, so I sat him down and chatted about working with such an iconic name.

How long have you been working with Zambesi now?
The collaboration has been going for 13 years now. In that time i have been the hair director for all of their fashion week shows in Auckland, London and Sydney, their advertising campaigns and the many other events that they have been involved in.

Can you remember what the first ever hair brief you received was?
The first thing that I ever did for them was a show for their customers in their Vulcan Lane store. The look had a number of small plaits that we then wrapped around the head. I remember being very nervous but the hair ended up looking great!

Is there one aesthetic that has remained constant over that time?
Liz (Findlay, Zambesi co-founder and designer) definitely likes to have an element of long hair around the neck. That has been fairly constant. She also likes height at the crown. We have probably explored many ways of fitting both of those elements into the look. One thing I love about working with Liz is that she is not interested in hair that is “on-trend”. As soon as something becomes too fashionable or obvious she will want to head in the opposite direction. Quite often we have gone for a look that is almost opposite to the aesthetic of the previous season.

Do you think of a particular muse or reference when creating hair for Zambesi?
Well I think that the Zambesi woman is adventurous, individual, free-spirited and has an intellectual approach to fashion. The hair has never been street hair. There is usually a language involved with the hair, which helps to animate the collection. There is a merging of fashion, art and rock and roll culture that seems to suggest new ways of looking at ourselves. With some of the shows there has definitely been a particular muse in mind such as RAFW Spring/Summer 07 where we were channeling Liz’s Greek heritage and the model’s had wet hair like they had just come out of the water in the Greek Islands. They then smashed plates at the end of the show.

A Greg Murrell how-to: long, loose and braided. By Helene Ravlich from her blog:  mshelene.com on Friday October 30, 2009.

One of my favourite hair looks that emerged this year from the catwalks internationally has been the long, loose wave, braids optional. If you have long hair it is often a struggle to look like you’ve actually got a “style” as opposed to just a lot of hair, and this a perfect look that is both easy to achieve as well as super feminine, if that’s your bag. The talented Greg Murrell and his team from Ryder salon in Central Auckland created a perfectly tousled example of this at a recent Stolen Girlfriends Club show, and I got the low down on how it was achieved.

“The look is wavy with a dry, dusty texture and features a braid across the whole of the front hairline. There is some height at the top with the volume through the sides being reduced by the addition of two plaited headbands made from hair which contrast slightly in colour to the natural hair. This is designed to fit the theme of nomadic abandonment.

Hair is sprayed liberally with KMS California Sea-salt spray and twisted in large sections. Then the hair was dried using a dryer, but taking care to keep it in the twists. When dry, repeat the process to build up the product texture.

Take a 1.5 inch wide section just in front of the right ear and start braiding a two strand twist right across the front hairline towards the left ear and ending at the nape. Fasten the end of the braid with a clip to prevent unravelling.

Now back-brush to the roots on top of the head for volume.

Place hair with your hands and then place the first headband in position at the high recession, wrapping it around the head. Take the second headband and place it just behind the right ear and wrap it to the other side. Fix both headbands in position by sewing them in place.

Finish by using KMS California Dry Wax for texture.”