JP/ Dian Kuswandini
Dian Kuswandini, The Jakarta Post, Bali
| Wed, 12/16/2009 11:02 AM | Life
Be it for runways or red carpets, veteran hair stylist Sam McKnight has to make sure he crowns his top models and celebrity clients with hair styles that dazzle the crowd and make cameras fall in love with them.
Listing all of Scotland-born hair stylist’s famous clients would simply take a lifetime. Nicole Kidman and Cate Blanchett? Check. Madonna and Kylie Minogue? Check. Kate Moss and Gisele Bundchen? Check. Not to mention the new sensation Lady Gaga and others on the A-list such as Drew Barrymore, Uma Thurman, Elizabeth Hurley, Naomi Campbell and Linda Evangelista. In fact, even the late Princess Diana was known for kidnapping him on her frequent trips around the world to make sure she had the most unforgettable, dramatic hairdo.
Yes, with a solid career spanning more than three decades, there is no doubt many public figures and Hollywood stars, as well as designers and photographers worldwide, have loved and respected Mc-Knight. Working with top designers and fashion houses like Prada, Chanel, Gucci, Ralph Lauren, Giorgio Armani, Christian Dior, Dolce&Gabanna, Chloë, Vivienne Westwood, Stella McCartney and Paul Smith, McKnight has surely secured his place among the crème de la crème of celebrities.
“I fell in love with hairdressing because I think hairdressing is the key to the world of glamor,” Mc-Knight said at the sidelines of P&G Beautisphere event in Bali recently. “It’s the key to beautiful places; the key to beautiful things.”
McKnight’s embraced this profession at a very young age. When he turned 19, he worked at several hair salons in his homeland and had his first encounter with celebrities when he tried his luck in salons in England.
“And then I suddenly got to work with many of them [celebrities],” he recalled. “From them, I was introduced to Vogue [magazine] in the 1970s.”
“I think that was how my career began. It grew from there,” he added.
Indeed. It was his first collaboration with Vogue in 1978 that later led him to hundreds of Vogue covers and stories, as well as other international publications. With the arrival of supermodels in the 80s, McKnight’s reputation among famous people continued to grow. His groundbreaking collaborations with designers and photographers marked the beginning of his remarkable career as a “session stylist” – a top job in the hairdressing industry that deals with fashion parades, magazine editorial shoots, advertising campaigns, music videos and films.
“I never get bored and I love what I do… creating beautiful hair, regardless of the occasion,” McKnight remarked.
While he merely sees himself as the creator of beautiful-looking hair, others in the fashion and entertainment industries consider him as the founder of a new wave of hairstyling.
And for his role in defining our attitudes towards beauty and hairstyling, McKnight has been honored with many awards, including the British Session Hairdresser of the Year and Gillette’s Venus Awards in Paris and New York three times in a row in the 1990s. In 2002, McKnight was also named Best Session Hairdresser in the UK Elle Style Awards.
So, given all this recognition for his inspiring work, how does the maestro of hairstyles inspire trends through famous people? McKnight remained humble when addressing the question, saying he didn’t work alone.
“We’re lucky enough to work with the best designers in the world and the best models, and then create trends at the shows,” he said. “You see, runaway looks are for inspiration, so we hope people will get ideas from them and apply them to their day-to-day hairstyles.”
McKnight was indeed successful in this case, as his role was pivotal in creating Evangelista’s, Campbell’s, Moss’, Bundchen’s and Lady Di’s images – all of whom are part of the iconography of fashion history.
“My styles match their characters, not the other way around,” McKnight said. But, he went on, “I love to keep it natural.”
Of course, as he pointed out, having that “natural look” doesn’t mean it has to be, well, natural. As someone who works with many celebrities with all kinds of characters, McKnight also plays with wigs to create those sexy, modern, glamorous looks.
“I love to play around, you know,” McKnight said, naming Lady Gaga as one of his clients who ended up wearing a selection of wigs. The singer, he said, once swapped her concert tickets with him to get a pink wig she used in a Vogue photo shoot in October.
“Lady Gaga… she can be red [haired] in the morning, and black at night. She can appear with short or long hair. But no matter what, she always looks fabulous!”
Well, he can make any fashion judgment he wants – many people will agree with him anyway. And for this particular “privilege”, McKnight was chosen as the Global Ambassador for haircare brand Pantene, a title he has been holding for six years now, bringing his international reputation to a new level. But do these new duties mean he only appears at beauty talks, or attends beauty events across the world? Of course not.
“I get to work on lots of products before they hit the shelves,” Mc-Knight said. “We have regular meetings to discuss what I need from a product and we try to meet my needs and yours [customers],” he added.
This, McKnight said, meant he partnered with the brand’s scientists to create solutions that keep pace not only with the wants of models and celebrities he knew, but also with thousands of women who used the products every day.
“After all, everyone deserves great hair,” he said.
So Mr McKnight, talking about great hair, please be honest: Do models and celebrities you work with really have shiny, beautiful hair, or was it you who made it happen?
“Oh… of course I was the one who made it that way,” McKnight answered, laughing.''
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/12/16/hollywood%E2%80%99s-hair-maestro.html
| Wed, 12/16/2009 11:02 AM | Life
Be it for runways or red carpets, veteran hair stylist Sam McKnight has to make sure he crowns his top models and celebrity clients with hair styles that dazzle the crowd and make cameras fall in love with them.
Listing all of Scotland-born hair stylist’s famous clients would simply take a lifetime. Nicole Kidman and Cate Blanchett? Check. Madonna and Kylie Minogue? Check. Kate Moss and Gisele Bundchen? Check. Not to mention the new sensation Lady Gaga and others on the A-list such as Drew Barrymore, Uma Thurman, Elizabeth Hurley, Naomi Campbell and Linda Evangelista. In fact, even the late Princess Diana was known for kidnapping him on her frequent trips around the world to make sure she had the most unforgettable, dramatic hairdo.
Yes, with a solid career spanning more than three decades, there is no doubt many public figures and Hollywood stars, as well as designers and photographers worldwide, have loved and respected Mc-Knight. Working with top designers and fashion houses like Prada, Chanel, Gucci, Ralph Lauren, Giorgio Armani, Christian Dior, Dolce&Gabanna, Chloë, Vivienne Westwood, Stella McCartney and Paul Smith, McKnight has surely secured his place among the crème de la crème of celebrities.
“I fell in love with hairdressing because I think hairdressing is the key to the world of glamor,” Mc-Knight said at the sidelines of P&G Beautisphere event in Bali recently. “It’s the key to beautiful places; the key to beautiful things.”
McKnight’s embraced this profession at a very young age. When he turned 19, he worked at several hair salons in his homeland and had his first encounter with celebrities when he tried his luck in salons in England.
“And then I suddenly got to work with many of them [celebrities],” he recalled. “From them, I was introduced to Vogue [magazine] in the 1970s.”
“I think that was how my career began. It grew from there,” he added.
Indeed. It was his first collaboration with Vogue in 1978 that later led him to hundreds of Vogue covers and stories, as well as other international publications. With the arrival of supermodels in the 80s, McKnight’s reputation among famous people continued to grow. His groundbreaking collaborations with designers and photographers marked the beginning of his remarkable career as a “session stylist” – a top job in the hairdressing industry that deals with fashion parades, magazine editorial shoots, advertising campaigns, music videos and films.
“I never get bored and I love what I do… creating beautiful hair, regardless of the occasion,” McKnight remarked.
While he merely sees himself as the creator of beautiful-looking hair, others in the fashion and entertainment industries consider him as the founder of a new wave of hairstyling.
And for his role in defining our attitudes towards beauty and hairstyling, McKnight has been honored with many awards, including the British Session Hairdresser of the Year and Gillette’s Venus Awards in Paris and New York three times in a row in the 1990s. In 2002, McKnight was also named Best Session Hairdresser in the UK Elle Style Awards.
So, given all this recognition for his inspiring work, how does the maestro of hairstyles inspire trends through famous people? McKnight remained humble when addressing the question, saying he didn’t work alone.
“We’re lucky enough to work with the best designers in the world and the best models, and then create trends at the shows,” he said. “You see, runaway looks are for inspiration, so we hope people will get ideas from them and apply them to their day-to-day hairstyles.”
McKnight was indeed successful in this case, as his role was pivotal in creating Evangelista’s, Campbell’s, Moss’, Bundchen’s and Lady Di’s images – all of whom are part of the iconography of fashion history.
“My styles match their characters, not the other way around,” McKnight said. But, he went on, “I love to keep it natural.”
Of course, as he pointed out, having that “natural look” doesn’t mean it has to be, well, natural. As someone who works with many celebrities with all kinds of characters, McKnight also plays with wigs to create those sexy, modern, glamorous looks.
“I love to play around, you know,” McKnight said, naming Lady Gaga as one of his clients who ended up wearing a selection of wigs. The singer, he said, once swapped her concert tickets with him to get a pink wig she used in a Vogue photo shoot in October.
“Lady Gaga… she can be red [haired] in the morning, and black at night. She can appear with short or long hair. But no matter what, she always looks fabulous!”
Well, he can make any fashion judgment he wants – many people will agree with him anyway. And for this particular “privilege”, McKnight was chosen as the Global Ambassador for haircare brand Pantene, a title he has been holding for six years now, bringing his international reputation to a new level. But do these new duties mean he only appears at beauty talks, or attends beauty events across the world? Of course not.
“I get to work on lots of products before they hit the shelves,” Mc-Knight said. “We have regular meetings to discuss what I need from a product and we try to meet my needs and yours [customers],” he added.
This, McKnight said, meant he partnered with the brand’s scientists to create solutions that keep pace not only with the wants of models and celebrities he knew, but also with thousands of women who used the products every day.
“After all, everyone deserves great hair,” he said.
So Mr McKnight, talking about great hair, please be honest: Do models and celebrities you work with really have shiny, beautiful hair, or was it you who made it happen?
“Oh… of course I was the one who made it that way,” McKnight answered, laughing.''
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/12/16/hollywood%E2%80%99s-hair-maestro.html
