Look gorgeous, love George's
Look gorgeous, love George's
CHRISTOPHER APPLETON IS AN INDUSTRY SENSATION – ONLY 26 YEARS OLD AND ALREADY IN HOT DEMAND AS A SALON STYLIST, EDUCATOR AND SESSION HAIRDRESSER. BUT IS HE HERE FOR THE LONG HAUL? CREATIVE HEAD RECKONS SO!
What did we ever do without Christopher Appleton? It only feels like five minutes since he arrived on the scene, and yet there he is winning a place in the Fellowship FAME Team, and there he is again working backstage at London Fashion Week, and, oh – there he is again on a Grazia shoot, and landing a top educational role at L’Oréal Professionnel and blogging for Creative HEAD’s The Coterie and winning BBC3’s Young Hairdresser of the Year and being named Racoon’s Young Rising Star ambassador and presenting on behalf of Remington to top consumer press beauty editors…
Are you keeping up? Make sure you do, because Chris is a fast worker. One minute he’s assisting Adam Reed at Marios Schwab, the next thing you know he’s a team leader backstage at the Central Saint Martins BA Graduate Show, working on hair looks for 40-odd designers in order to impress an audience that, in the past, has included everyone from Stella McCartney to Alexandra Shulman. A whirlwind success? Make that gale-force!
Good-looking, incredibly talented and still only 26 years old – no wonder everyone wants a piece of Chris Appleton (he hasn’t had a single day off this year so far). But there’s a lot more to this hairdresser than meets the eye. Consider this for dedication – he’s only ever worked at one salon (George’s Hairdressing in Leicester), starting there age 13 and working on Saturdays and as many late nights as they’d have him. By 17, fully qualified and doing blow-dries that put stylists twice his age to shame, he announced to the salon manager that he was going travelling, but needed to know he’d be guaranteed a job when he got back. The salon manager replied she couldn’t guarantee the job, but to call when he returned and she would see what she could do. Later that evening, Chris phoned the salon manager. “I’ve decided not to go travelling after all,” he said. “I can’t take the risk of not being able to fulfil my dream of working in hairdressing.” (A few years later, Chris would marry the salon manager, Katie, and they now have two children together, Billy, aged seven, and Kitty-Blu, aged five.)
ON AMBITION AND FAME
“I’ve always been ambitious,” states Chris. “From the moment I qualified as a stylist, I wanted to be the highest-earning member of the team, charging the highest prices. And even when I reached that point – when I had loads of clients and was earning great money – I knew I needed more. I’ve always needed to stay passionate and motivated.”
A place on the L’Oréal Professionnel iD Artist scheme (a year-long programme fostering new creative talent, with exposure to industry stars such as Trevor Sorbie and session star Rudi Lewis) gave Chris his first taste of industry life outside of the salon – and he loved it. “The iD Artists were my kind of people – passionate, creative, hungry for success. I just went, Wow!”
Fellow students included Katie Mulcahy, a bright new star from the Lisa Shepherd stable, and Kathryn Dartnell from Haringtons, who, unwittingly, was to play a pivotal role in putting Chris on the hairdressing map – on the way back from an iD Artist trip to Barcelona, she told Chris about The Fellowship FAME Team.
The Fellowship Academy of Merit and Excellence (FAME) Team promotes a new generation of bright young hairdressers, with potential team members undergoing a rigorous selection process that includes a live onstage demonstration at Salon International. Chris trained for three solid months for that audition, securing his place with an incredible haircut that incorporated a strong undercut accessorised with an actual zip fastener (he became known as ‘The Zip Guy’). Both Katie and Kathryn also got chosen, along with Indira Schauwecker, from Toni&Guy, and the foursome went on to become one of the best-known teams in the scheme’s history.
“I was like a great big sponge,” recalls Chris. “We got to work with industry greats such as Sassoon and Angelo Seminara, we got to travel, we met amazing people, we did shoots and shows – it was just incredible. And the four of us were a proper team – at the end of a tour of Australia, we did a sky-dive together – that’s how tight we were!”
A PASSION FOR FASHION
The first time Chris Appleton worked backstage at a fashion show (Caroline Charles, under the tutelage of Jonny Engstrom), he was hooked. “It is a different vision, a different world,” he says. “I knew that’s where I wanted to go.”
Once again, he quickly made his mark. Renowned session stylists, such as Adam Reed, Kim Mahoney, Zoë Irwin and Lyndell Mansfield, have all requested his services on their team, and he’s starting to rise through the ranks, with team-leader responsibilities at the 2010 Central Saint Martins BA Show that saw him creating and teaching his own look. “I was the first person in our salon to head in this direction,” says Chris. “There were no footsteps to follow; I had to create the footsteps.”
Meanwhile, there’s an ongoing collaboration with American jazz singer Melody Gardot – Chris was recommended to her and now she calls him all the time, for album covers and PAs, including a recent mega-watt performance at the Cannes Film Festival, where Melody sang for film director Tim Burton at the premiere of Robin Hood, a performance that required three hair changes in ultra-quick time (Chris later made up for all the hard work by partying with the movie’s stars Cate Blanchett, Russell Crowe and Benicio del Toro). And new opportunities are opening up for Chris all the time – he’s an H3 Expert, sharing new techniques created within L’Oréal Professionnel’s global education programme; the BBC has given him a regular hair guru slot on Radio Leicester; and he’s recently started working for Remington. So, what’s next?
“Life is fast and furious at the moment, but at least I’m learning what I’m not so keen on, and also what I love,” says Chris. “I’m definitely loving the session work – I feel like I’ve found my niche. At the same time, I love working with my clients – they get excited and inspired by all the work I’m doing outside of the salon. And I also love doing Melody’s hair and jumping on a plane at a moment’s notice… At the end of the day, I’m a hairdressing junkie and all I want to do is to learn more and experience more – that feeling just won’t go away.”
(When Malcolm Edwards presented at the recent L’Oréal Professionnel Portfolio Congress, guess who was the first to jump up and offer to help take down the models’ hair after the show? Typical Chris.)
“I’VE ALWAYS BEEN AMBITIOUS. FROM THE MOMENT I QUALIFIED AS A STYLIST, I WANTED TO BE THE HIGHEST-EARNING MEMBER OF THE TEAM, CHARGING THE HIGHEST PRICES. AND EVEN WHEN I REACHED THAT POINT – WHEN I HAD LOADS OF CLIENTS AND WAS EARNING GREAT MONEY – I KNEW I NEEDED MORE. I’VE ALWAYS NEEDED TO STAY PASSIONATE AND MOTIVATED”
TAKE TEN
TEN MINUTES WITH CHRIS APPLETON
What inspired you to become a hairdresser?
Becoming a hairdresser was a natural thing for me – I never
considered doing anything else. Hair in my hands felt right. As
a hairdresser, I’m an artist, sculpting, moulding and creating.
I’m very lucky that it happens to be my career, too. I don’t feel
as though I’m at work, I’m just doing what I love.
What I remember about my fi rst few days in the salon is…
I remember it well – I felt at home. I was in my element. The
energy in the salon, the smell of the products, the electricity that
fi lled the room… I would go home and practice head massages
for hours, knowing that when the client closed her eyes I’d
cracked it. It’s funny – I have clients today who came to me
back then and they still remember that massage!
The moment I felt I’d really achieved something
as a hairdresser…
We all have ‘wow’ moments, and mine came off the back of my
photographic collection, Red Raw – Vidal Sassoon sent me an
email saying he loved my work. To receive a comment like that
from an industry legend! It was the moment things changed and
I thought, I can do this!
The most exciting trip I have been on is…
Flying to Cannes to style the American jazz singer Melody
Gardot. I fl ew business class, stayed in a stunning hotel for the
week and was given a Lanvin suit to wear at the after-party, as
Melody wanted me on hand. In one performance, I managed
to change her hair three times – everyone said she was the
Gaga of jazz. I didn’t get to eat or sleep, I just drank
champagne… rock ’n’ roll!
My favourite person in hairdressing is…
Session stylist Luigi Murenu. This man’s vision is second to none.
He makes hair come alive.
The hotels I love to stay in are…
I love old-school hotels, like you fi nd in Venice or around
Lake Como. They have character, a history and they feel real.
That’s somewhere I can relax!
The worst part of my job right now is…
Not being at home with my kids.
The thing I’m looking forwards to most is…
Heading up my fi rst team for the Central Saint Martins
BA Show. Just last year I was assisting, so to be a team leader
this year is rocking .
The most famous person I’ve met is…
Tim Burton. I met him when I was in Cannes. He’s so out there!
I was also out partying with Benicio del Toro at the VIP after-party.
He’s just a regular guy, although I did want to ask about his
rendezvous with Scarlett Johansson in that lift!
The most scary thing I’ve done is…
Dancing at Pacha nightclub in Ibiza. I discovered I’ve lost all my
rhythm and acquired a new skill – dad dancing!
