Creative HEAD May/June Ireland 2019

YOU DON’T GET THE PERFECT
BLOW-DRY OR HAIR-UP FROM
EUGENE SOULEIMAN. YOU GET A
WHOLE NEW WAY OF LOOKING AT
BEAUTY, WITH HAIR THAT’S RAW,
ORGANIC AND SUBVERSIVELY
SENSUAL. CREATIVE HEAD SITS
BACK AND ENJOYS THE RIDE
SEVEN STYLES. Six hours. But who cares
about the clock? When you’re watching
Eugene Souleiman at work, trust me – you
want every moment to last a lifetime.
This exclusive masterclass was held in
a central London studio in front of a starstudded
audience – guests included Angelo
Seminara, Tim Hartley, Anthony and Pat
Mascolo and Eugene’s former boss, Trevor
Sorbie. It was the current Most Wanted Hair
Icon’s chance to share his creative process
and a rare opportunity for us to watch him
work live, recreating some of the mindblowing
looks he’s delivered over the years
for designers like Alexander McQueen, Yohji
Yamamoto and, more recently, John Galliano.
We learned that he loves contrast in hair,
likes his styles to look imperfect (he says
“weather-beaten” a lot), works instinctively,
and likes it when accidents happen. “I work
with designers who throw curveballs at you, so
you have to re-think everything you’ve been
taught about hairdressing,” he explained.
“It pushes you to think in a different way
about hair and that takes you to interesting
places – places you’d never have thought of
otherwise. I love that challenge.”
For Eugene, creating the hair for a show
starts with the designer and he loves it when
he’s asked to do outlandish things. “I’m
all about turning it up. I’m not quiet, I’m
engaged. I’m in it to be creative because for
me it’s a release and I love that exchange of
working with creative people,” he says.
“I want to work with visionaries and artists,
people who don’t just make clothes to sell
but who have a dream and a vision. I feed
off their energy.”
Eugene’s training shines through in every
aspect of his work and he fully acknowledges
that it’s been his strength over the years.
“I’m no stranger to getting the block out
and practising,” he says. “I do that a lot. As
a session hairdresser you’re doing lots of
different things all of the time, so you don’t get
to focus on one specific skill. When I feel that
CREATIVE HEAD IRELAND 53