Creative HEAD UK April 2018

FEEL
S O
REAL
Consider the imagery shot for many salons on expensive photoshoots; just how much of it speaks to the end
consumer? It’s likely to be something that’s been airbrushed to the point of being alien-like in its results and
designed with impressing other hairdressers in mind… all for several thousands of pounds. And, if used in the
windows of a salon, it could end up discouraging a client from walking in.
With the growth of social media, this reliance on fake-looking shoots seems increasingly bizarre. Often it’s the
in-salon transformation captured on a stylist’s phone and shared on Instagram that attracts more client interest
than any expensive studio shoot. So it makes a great deal of sense that Dale Herne and Angelo Vallillo, the
founders of Nottingham’s DNA ARTSPACE, have decided to merge the two – and these are the first results.
“We shot this collection on an iPhone, and we want to challenge people around the world to do the same thing,”
explains Angelo. “I’m sick of the over-editing you see on hair shoots. We used normal girls who did their own
make-up and wore their own clothes. We wanted to capture their personalities.”
It’s a battle cry from Angelo, who wants his peers to remember one vital detail. “Hairdressers are not taking
into account their own clients,” he sighs. “It has to be about them!” In fact, all the girls in this shoot are DNA
ARTSPACE clients, shot in the salon in a dedicated studio space. “We want to get away from the generic salon,”
he says. “This is a space to inspire clients and staff.”
So far, Angelo has secured two other names to grab their phones and take up this challenge – Shay Dempsey
at EDEN by Eden Sassoon in LA, and Ben Russell at Biba in Australia – and we’ll be sharing the results on
creativeheadmag.com this month. Just think what your salon can achieve, with that little metal rectangle sitting
in your pocket. It’s time to put your creativity in focus...
PHOTOGRAPHY BY SAMI WELLER
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