“What if the red carpet was all about the hair you were wearing rather than the gown?” That’s a fantasy that Steve Lococo, co-owner of B2V Salon in West Hollywood, recently presented to his team of stylists. “Let fashion follow the hair,” he said, “rather than the other way around.” Their challenge: to create looks for the Best Actress Academy Award nominees.

In this alternate hair-centric red carpet, Viola Davis sported gorgeous marcel waves, Meryl Streep wore a ’60s-style sky-high updo adorned with a diamond headband, and a newly redheaded Rooney Mara rocked a chignon with a roughed-up finish.

What the styles had in common, says Lococo, was that hair itself was treated like fabric. The silhouettes “were still smooth and elegant, but they had a texture that made them like a garment,” says Lococo. That, in turn, meant a glamorous look could be pulled together with minimal jewelry and a very simple dress.

Here are Lococo’s three top tips on how to create red-carpet hair texture:

1. Think in sections. “Don’t work with all of your hair at once,” says Lococo. Instead, blow-dry your hair in sections, curl and then pin, before moving on to the next area.

2. Give hair a good foundation. “Use a volumizing spray, working hair spray or dry shampoo,” says Lococo. “That way, your hair is like a well-ironed shirt; you’ve got control over how it hangs.”

3. For perfect updo hair, start with day-old hair. “If your hair is too clean, it’s more likely to collapse, forcing you to overload it with styling products and spray,” says Lococo.

Photo Credit: Vince Bucci