The Spring Style Edit: Shop The Looks, Bringing The Runway To You
What a night. In the transformed car park at St James Quarter, last week’s Hood Spring STYLE Edit brought together a brilliant crowd spanning all ages, styles and moods for an evening that felt fresh, upbeat and unmistakably Edinburgh. The event formed part of St James Quarter’s Edinburgh STYLE programme, with Hood presenting a live fashion masterclass and shoot on 26 March 2026.
The evening began exactly as it should — with a cheeky cocktail from Edinburgh Cocktail Week, who also supplied the welcome drink for guests, before everyone settled into a browse of the incredible vintage rails from Charity Super.Mkt, soundtracked by retro tunes from Umbrella Vinyl. It set the tone perfectly: stylish, social and full of personality.
Backstage our models — Gilly Cheung, Elouise, Eve Lily and Moira — were prepped and dressed by fashion angel Style Stories by MJ, with hair by Alexandra McQuaid at Quaid and the legendary Karen Mason. Together, they created a runway-to-photoshoot experience that captured the spirit of the season and brought Hood’s spring style vision to life.
The result was a fashion event that felt warm and dynamic: a celebration of great styling, individuality and the joy of getting dressed up. Every look, every detail and every moment was beautifully captured by photographer James McLaren.
A huge thank you to everyone who came along and made the evening such a success, and to all of the brilliant collaborators who helped bring it together. Special thanks to Rogue Village for their support.
THE HAIR Looks We Loved
Behind every standout look was a considered hair story. Alexandra McQuaid of Quaid salon in Edinburgh crafted individual moodboards for each model, shaping styles that felt both directional and wearable, perfectly complementing the edit. Here, she shares the inspiration behind each look, along with the hero products she relied on to bring them to life.
Eve Lily’s Deep Side Parting
Alexandra chose a deep side parting for model Eve Lily adding exposed pins and a nineties inspired silver headband
Alexandra’s Inspo Board For Eve Lily
Eloise’s Sleek into Messy Bun
So for Eloise it was a slicked middle parting into a messy bun that Alexandra created.
Alexandra’s Inspo Board for Eloise
Gillian’s Slick Low Pony
Alexandra’s Inspo Board for Gillian
Moira’s Slicked Back Look
On the evening, Alexandra chatted live on the runway to give us a few hints and tips for creating her hair creations at home. Her top tip? Well you can’t go wrong with any Colour Wow products in her eyes. But her favourite is the Colour Wow Pop & Lock with the texture spray a close second.
She used the L’Oréal flex PLI to prep and for hold for the models’ styles - this can be used on wet and dry hair (but would run over it with the hair dryer). For slick finishes Alex chooses a boar bristle brush. She uses the brand Framar but you can find great alternatives in your local Boots. Other tips are the L’Oréal metal detox and mask. And instead of losing and abusing all our expensive colour endeavours with purple shampoo her tip is to use clarifying shampoo every few weeks. Her favourite? Ouai detox shampoo.
Alexandra’s Top Hair Buys
BEAUTy & Makeup from the runway
With decades of industry experience, Karen Mason brought her signature expertise to the beauty looks, creating polished, confident finishes that elevated every outfit. For Karen Mason, great makeup always begins long before the first brushstroke. Her number one rule? Hydration. “Drink water, use a great moisturiser, and be kind to your skin,” she advises. It’s a simple philosophy — avoid smoking, prioritise skincare — but one that underpins every flawless finish she creates.
Skin prep was key backstage. Karen began with Chanel Hydra Beauty Crème, creating a plumped, luminous base before layering either a Chanel primer or Hourglass primer to smooth and perfect.
For foundation, she chose the effortlessly radiant Chanel Les Beiges Water-Fresh Tint, allowing natural skin to shine through while subtly evening tone. Concealer was kept soft and skin-like, using NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer, with By Terry concealer as her go-to for more mature skin, delivering coverage without heaviness.
A fresh, modern flush came from Chanel cream-to-powder blush in Rose Radiant, adding warmth and dimension, while powders from By Terry or Chanel were used sparingly to set without dulling the glow.
Eyes were softly defined yet full of texture. Karen blended Chanel Les 4 Ombres Brun Rosé 267 with Chanel Gris Rosé eyeshadow, building depth through layering rather than harsh lines. Definition came via both black and brown Chanel liquid eyeliner, finished with classic black mascara for a clean, polished look.
Lips stayed beautifully understated and wearable, with Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet adding soft-focus colour, balanced by the nourishing sheen of Chanel Rouge Coco Balm in Sweet Treat.
The result? Skin that looks like skin — elevated, luminous and effortlessly modern.
Karen’s Top Makeup & beauty Buys
THE STYLE EDIT
So as we race around the stores of St James Quarter to create the runway edit, we noticed some standout elements of the spring 2026 look. It’s all gone quite minimal and pared back. Very nineties - which feels quite timely as we have all recently binged Love Story and fallen in love with Carolyn Bessette Kennedy’s sleek and simple styling. And the colour palette? Well, for a spring and summer season it is most definitely subdued overall. Just find little pops of colour to add in and lift your days. Loved what you saw on the runway? Get the look for you or feel inspired because so many of these pieces we have lookalikes in our wardrobe already. It’s fashion but it’s considered. Enjoy.
