Pretty Penny

Gold doesn’t always set the standard. When it comes to hair color, it pays to be less precious. “I’m always trying to kick off a copper trend,” says Lena Ott, the owner of New York’s Suite Caroline salon, who tested her metal on Scarlett Johansson earlier this year. “The hue has so many variations—pink, golden, rust—that any skin tone can pull it off.” Need proof? Check out Giambattista Valli’s fall 2015 couture show, for which the stylist Paul Hanlon gave models copper-tinted tresses. Here, Ott used rinse-out color (Hair Color Chalk in Funky Orange and Wild Fire Red) but points out that even permanent options are gentler than bleached-out platinum. And that’s just one of copper’s winning attributes. “The shade is as striking as blonde but sultry like brunette,” Ott says. “It’s the best of both worlds.”

Hair by Dennis Lanni at Art Department; Color by Lena Ott for Suite Caroline at Jed Root; Makeup by Jeanine Lobell for Dior; nail Technician: Honey for Exposure NY; model: christina kruse at the lions NY; digital technician: alex verron; photography assistants: eric hodgman, zach fernandez; fashion assistant: lucy gaston; makeup assistant: Chia Takahashi.