cover image Serge Normant: Metamorphosis

Serge Normant: Metamorphosis

Serge Normant. ABRAMS, $40 (192pp) ISBN 978-0-8109-4344-5

This high-end, glossy collection of photographs of beautiful people pays tribute to the stunning talent of hairstylist Normant (who has worked with actors and supermodels from Cameron Diaz and Catherine Zeta-Jones to Julianne Moore and Kate Moss) and portrays its subjects in all their come-hither glory. The photos--taken by celebrity fashion photographers including Patrick Demarchelier and Herb Ritts--are staged extravaganzas, whether in color or b&w. There's Ellen Barkin, draped in fur and sporting fishnets and a glamorous bob; Julia Roberts, seen in profile with an updo and tiara worthy of a Miss America; Bridget Hall on the phone, wearing a tiny, sequined two-piece, platform heels and her hair in Judy Garland-esque curls; and Sarah Jessica Parker as a Renaissance beauty, long hair loosely braided. While the book isn't one to tote along to the salon in an effort to have a beautician copy a look, it nevertheless delightfully shows off Normant's wild imagination.