Backstage Pass

Charles:

Well, I’ve been involved in London Fashion Week now for literally over 20 years. When I first started off, we were working with the likes of Betty Jackson, 

Jasper Conran, Bruce Oldfield. So it’s always been a really important strategy for our company to be very involved with fashion.

Interviewer:

Great, so how long have you been working with Erdem?

Charles:

I’ve been working with Erdem for four years now, which is always really exciting. He’s a real innovator, he manages to always have a really quirky twist to all his designs and is a really creative character. We worked very closely together before the collection. He does beautiful, floaty patterns and everything always has a little bit of an edge, which we love.

Interviewer:

Why do you admire Erdem’s style?

Charles:

I admire Erdem’s style because he always comes up with very pretty, fresh and wearable looks.

Interviewer:

Is hair an important part of the show?

Charles:

Hair is always an incredibly important part of any show, and I think any designer would tell you that because it can make or break a show. It’s got to be about a total look. It doesn’t matter how fabulous the clothes are – if the hair doesn’t fit and doesn’t work then it’s not going to give you a total look, and that’s why the preparation before a show, and working so closely with Erdem, is absolutely key.

Interviewer:

How do you come up with the ideas and is it a collaborative approach?

Charles:

It’s very much a collaborative approach. When I have the first meetings with Erdem, it’s about me presenting ideas, it’s about Erdem telling me about the flow and feel of the show, so that we can get the ideas flowing together. And then it’s literally trial sessions where we both look at the total look to see whether it’s melding together.

Interviewer:

What do you like about the shows?

Charles:

I absolutely love being backstage at fashion shows. The energy is absolutely incredible. It’s very very innovative, it feels very exciting, it’s always very forward-thinking – you have to be very forward-thinking with the hair. Fashion is very forward-thinking. So you feel as though you’re very much on the edge of what’s happening in London.

Interviewer:

What was the inspiration behind the hair? 

Charles:

Erdem’s inspiration for the show is Ballet Russe, so – the Russian ballet feel. We’ve gone very much along those lines for the hair, so we’ve done a very simple plait – slightly distressed-looking, slightly sort of fluffy, which circles the head, and, as I say, the type of thing that you might see on stage at the ballet.

The look we’ve gone for is this very lovely, loose plait. It’s plaited to the head in a circle so it’s going round the head, so it almost forms a headband of plait. And then, when it’s been done, we loosen it up, we use a little bit of Crackle Wax on our hands while we’re plaiting it. That gives you a little bit of control to the hair and allows you to manipulate the hair into the look you want.

Interviewer:

What’s your favourite Front Row product?

Charles:

My favourite Front Row product, which is a must-have, is the Crackle Wax. It’s so versatile, and it’s brilliant for the look we’re just creating.

Interviewer:

What is your role on the day?

Charles:

My role on the day, after endless meetings with Erdem, is really to oversee everything that’s going on and make sure that every single head that walks along that catwalk, so every single model, looks perfection. And the team here…it’s very much about mentoring the team and just checking the work, and making sure, as I say, that the models go onto that catwalk, that they really do look superb.

Interviewer:

And what do you think are the strengths of London Fashion Week?

Charles:

The strengths of London Fashion Week are very much that there is an edge to London fashion, and that’s still the case. New York Fashion Week and the other Fashion Weeks see some very creative work, but the designers I think are braver – I think the designers want to be right out there doing something different. And that’s why being associated with a designer like Erdem is so important for us. He’s super-cool, and it allows us to create fabulous products to create the looks that we’re doing to go along the catwalk.

Interviewer:

Do you have any words of advice?

Charles:

Just look around you, look at the excitement that’s going on. Hairdressing is not just about standing in a salon cutting hair and colouring hair. It’s about getting out there, doing things like this. The energy is phenomenal backstage, and really the sky is the limit. And it takes you all over the world – that’s the exciting thing. Hair is so versatile, all you have to do is pick up a comb, pick up a brush, pick up a product, and off you go.

Interviewer:

Whose hair do you admire?

Charles:

I really admire Lily Allen’s hair because she’s quirky, she likes to be a little bit different, she’s quite brave. She will put on a wig to do a crazy new look, and then equally she’ll have her hair cut into a fantastic shape as well, so she’s a good ambassador for hairdressing.

Interviewer:

Is there anyone’s hair you have not done that you would like to?

Charles:

Someone’s hair who I have not done, who I would love to get my hands on, is Lady Gaga, purely because she’s so out-there, she’s completely open to new ideas and I think it would be really fun working on her, giving her something really fun and crazy.

Interviewer:

If luxury were a place... an event.... what would it be?

Charles:

If luxury were an event or a place then the event would definitely have to be the BAFTAs. It’s full-on glamour, it’s so luxurious and every element of it is beautiful. And if it was a place, it would be St. Tropez. St. Tropez is an international magnet for the beauty of the world to congregate, and it’s always inspiring being there and seeing all these wonderful people and their different looks.

Interviewer:

What’s next for you after Fashion Week?

Charles:

So, what’s next for me after Fashion Week? Well it’s going to be BAFTAs. BAFTAs is very full-on, we’re already organising that, and it’s very exciting.

Marc Trinder Interview

Interviewer:

How long have you worked at Charles Worthington?

Marc:

I have worked at Charles Worthington for…it’s coming up to five years, and I’ve been in this salon for about four years, and I’ve worked in a few of our other salons as well.

Interviewer:

Was Charles Worthington always someone you wanted to work for?

Marc:

Yeah definitely. I’ve been in the industry for 10 years, and I worked outside London for the first five years of my career, but I really aspired to working in a bigger salon. I wanted to work in London in the hub of it all as it were, and applied, and it’s been the best decision I’ve ever made.

Interviewer:

Excellent, so how long have you been involved in London Fashion Week?

Marc:

With Charles Worthington, we’ve been involved in London Fashion Week, crikey, for quite a few years now. For every year I’ve been here, I’ve been lucky enough to be involved with the art team and creating looks at London Fashion Week, and previously, before Charles Worthington, I worked at London Fashion Week with L’Oreal – they have a portfolio team of artistic hairdressers, and I was lucky enough to have my first taste of life in the industry through that.

Interviewer:

Brilliant, so who are your influences, and how have they shaped what you do?

Marc:

Crikey, I have so many influences in the industry. I kind of take a little bit of inspiration from various people, whether that be internal at Charles Worthington or external people from different companies. Always researching and always attending shows myself to get inspiration – I think is really important that you continue to do that. But Charles in particular has been a massive inspiration to me. We had some more intimate sessions last year where he trained me and coached me for six weeks, and it is quite good because we went right back to basics. We went through the classics, moving forward into the more avant-garde styling. He has been a massive inspiration.

Interviewer:

Wow, that’s brilliant. And what about other influences? Because Erdem said that he was influenced in things he saw everyday and music and all that sort of stuff. How do you feel about that? Who else were you influenced by?

Marc:

I think it’s a really tricky one. I do get asked that a lot, and I do get inspiration from everything, and I carry my camera with me the whole time. So if I see a shape or a picture or a pattern, I’m constantly taking photos – on my camera-phone especially, which is great to keep a bit of a log and a bit of a history, whether it be a pattern or even if I see a cool person in the street I would photograph them politely. I think it’s just really good to keep a catalogue of anything that inspires you because you never know when you’re going to need that…

Interviewer:

Cool, so really all the bits that inspire you are in the photos that you collect. Describe how you work. What’s your normal routine when you have to come up with some kind of look?

Marc:

I go right back to basics. I start off by doing mood boards, so I sit down with some magazines or a collection of my photos, and then I pull some of my favourites. I think, okay that’s good for that, that’s good for that – literally calibrate everything together on one board, and I think that’s really important. I keep that board by my side, and that’s my inspirational tool. So if you do lose track when you’re creating something, you’ll always refer back to that to relate to the final result.

Interviewer:

Whose look do you admire generally?

Marc:

Celebrity-wise?

Interviewer:

It could be anybody.

Marc:

Obviously Cheryl Cole – she’s very versatile with her hair and with her clothes and her image. She’s got a really nice girl next-door look about her, and a look that clients can particularly relate to. And as well, I think I look at people from the music industry like Paloma Faith – I think she has a really cool image. She’s a bit vintage and a bit retro, and I think you can definitely see key inspirations from her look filter their way through to everyday work that we do in the salon. So yeah, I think celebrities are a major inspiration in terms of what we do to our clients.

Interviewer:

Cool. Erdem mentioned that he was really inspired by his Dad, because he said that he looked more and more like his Dad every week. Is there anybody general that you find inspiring, people around you?

Marc:

That’s tricky. Not my Dad, because my Dad’s an undertaker, so I don’t really aspire to be that, although someone’s got to do it! I don’t know… my Mum’s a hairdresser as well, and I’ve grown up with her obviously doing hair all the time around me, so she’s been a massive inspiration to me. And it’s now great that, I mean she’s no longer hairdressing, but I can train her a little bit as well, and she has been a really key figure in terms of the hairdresser I have become today I think.

Interviewer:

Right okay, so is there anyone’s hair you have not done that you would like to do?

Marc:

It sounds really cheesy, but I look at Boris Johnson and I just think you need a hair cut! I think he could look much younger, so I’d like to get my hands on his hair and give him a revamp. But I think, as well, someone like Madonna – like someone who is a major celebrity worldwide – it would be amazing to get my hands on someone like that to put in my CV or portfolio.

Interviewer:

How finished is a design in your head before you begin creating it?

Marc:

I think it’s really important to remember the key thing that you’re trying to create, and obviously referring back to the mood board is essential so you don’t lose track of what you’re trying to achieve. But I do think the best ideas do develop, and I think that if we’re creating a look for instance for a fashion week or for a shoot we may start off with one thing and actually push the boundaries – even when we feel like we’ve got our final shot, we continue to dishevel that style even a little bit more because it’s those sort of times that you think “Wow, that’s absolutely amazing!”. You know what I mean? And I think it’s good just to push the boundaries on those things.

Interviewer:

And how important is product in creating a look that lasts?

Marc:

I think it’s hugely important. I think obviously you have to bear in mind the hair condition, and for me in any hair style the condition is priority. And with products nowadays you can change the condition, and you can also use products in a way that makes bad condition hair look in good condition, even if it is just for the camera. But I think having reliable products is the most important thing – like I wouldn’t be able to do what I do backstage at London Fashion Week without relying on a particular hair spray. You need to really have faith in the tools that you’re using I think, because it is stressful in those sort of environments, having that confidence in your products is essential for me.

Interviewer:

And what is your favourite product in the Front Row collection?

Marc:

I have two – am I allowed to have two? My most favourite is the Front Row blow dry spray because it gives amazing volume to fine hair. It’s great for using if you’re creating a sleek pony tail because it gives you a really nice glossy finish, but it’s also amazing for volume and texture. And the new addition, new Crackle Wax, is fantastic. I used it for the first time the other day, and it’s great for smoothing down those little flyaways. It’s also great for men’s hair, so it’s good that we’ve got product in the Front Row range that we can use for guys and for girls.

Interviewer:

So what do you think is a key beauty look for Autumn and Winter?

Marc:

I think for me, from what I do - from London Fashion Week – the key look is braiding and plaits. That combined with a little bit of backcombing and a little bit more of a beehive look, but more of a modern beehive than an old-fashioned big, bouffanted updo. But the fishtail braid in particular is a massive key trend at the moment, that’s very popular at the salon and we’ve seen a lot of it on the runway as well.

Interviewer:

What’s been your favourite catwalk look?

Marc:

My favourite catwalk look has to be…I have to be biased and I think it was our look, which was taken from Autumn/Winter which is the season just gone which was the braided fishtail bun. For me, that was really cool. And also, another look I really like is the side-parting, and the sleekness of the side-parting, the structure, the gutsiness of it. I think it looks really fierce and really powerful.

Interviewer:

How big is the team of Charles Worthington hairdressers backstage at Fashion Week?

Marc:

The team is quite big backstage. We have about seven stylists, and we have two or three assistants helping us backstage, which sounds quite a lot but it isn’t really because you don’t always get the full two hours. Models turn up late and it’s all a little bit all hands on desk. There might be two or three hairdressers on one head of hair trying to get the hair done on time. Usually having about eight people there on the day works really well.

Interviewer:

What causes you the most stress backstage at London Fashion Week?

Marc:

I think…I like to have space backstage at Fashion Week, and, working with Erdem, he always has great prep rooms with lots and lots of space. I’ve worked in rooms before that have been really claustrophobic and you literally can’t turn. So having space, that takes some of the pressure off. But also, models turning up late when they’ve got to be back out on the runaway in 15 minutes, and they turn up with a crimped hairstyle that has to be in a blow dry smooth – again, that’s quite stressful – which is the turn-around time.

Interviewer:

So based on that, have you ever had any backstage dramas?

Marc:

A couple of years ago we had a few dramas. We had one girl who turned up with wire and extensions glued into her hair, and we had to change that pretty quick. Also, models being unwell, being sick, but still wanting to walk the catwalk – quite a challenge.

Interviewer:

Okay cool, so do you think the outside venue will be a challenge?

Marc:

Yeah I think it will. I pray that it will be sunny on the day, but obviously coming back to the product point-of-view, I think we need to use products that are going to be able to withstand the humidity. I mean, obviously if it’s a bit damp in the atmosphere, that makes a huge difference on the hair.

Interviewer:

So what’s the next big event for you after London Fashion Week?

Marc:

There are quite a few. I’m going to be doing a 10 minute demonstration on stage at Salon International which is a huge hairdressing event that happens once a year in London. So that’s the next big thing for me. And then also we’ve got our annual collection which we’re going to be shooting hopefully in October – so quite exciting stuff!

Interviewer:

Great, so what do you think the next big trend is going to be?

Marc:

I think the next big trend is going to be…from a colour point-of-view, I think colours are going to be much bolder. We’ll be seeing a lot more redheads and really fiery coppers – with, you know, Paloma Faith and Florence and the Machine – I think that’s really making an impact in terms of what our clients are asking for in the salon. People are being much braver in having brighter colours. From a styling point-of-view, I think haircuts and hair-ups as well are going to go back to being a bit sharper and a bit more structured, because you’ve seen a lot of texture and a lot of messiness, and I think it’s nice just to rein it all in a little bit more and actually have something that’s a little bit more controlled. So, for me, clean, polished hair is always just beautiful, and I think it would be nice to see a little bit more than that hopefully this Spring/Summer.

Interviewer:

So what is your favourite place in London?

Marc:

There are so many places in London that it’s hard… it depends on your mood, you know? Like I love just spending the day in Hyde Park or I love watching the hustle and bustle of Leicester Square, depending on what kind of mood I’m in. But I love London in general – it’s a great place to work. There’s such a variety of different people and it never gets boring.

Interviewer:

And finally, do you think a star is born or made?

Marc:

I think both. I think Paris Hilton was born and Victoria Beckham was made. But from a hair point-of-view I think a hairdresser does kind of need to be born because you can’t really teach somebody to be creative. You can teach somebody skills but you can’t really teach someone to have an artistic eye on something. So that really has to come naturally.

Interviewer:

And finally (again), who styles your hair?

Marc:

My girlfriend, actually. Sophie styles my hair, who is in the art team, so I trust her implicitly. She’s been doing my hair since before we were together.