Creative HEAD UK August 2020

IT’S JULY, and session legend Guido
Palau is back in his childhood
stomping ground of Dorset, visiting
family and generally unwinding after
a lockdown spent in a badly bruised
New York City. He’s excited to be
within sight of working again, to get
to pull those famous fingers through
some heads of hair.
“This is the beginning,” he says, “we
start a new chapter, and everyone
can’t wait to get back to work,
especially creatives. I didn’t feel
particularly creative in lockdown. I
need to be working, to be around other
people, working off their energy and
connecting with my colleagues.”
And it heralds a new start for him
too. After 15 years as the global creative
director for Redken, he is now a free
agent. “It’s like a rebirth for me in a
way,” he admits. “I’ve had such pivotal
moments in that time, and I just don’t
know what the future’s going to bring.
But change is good. We’re creatures
of habit, but now everything is going
to change and we should be looking
at that as a positive. I’m going to be
pushed into new realms and I’m open
to new experiences… to who knows
what, I can’t predict!”
He’s clearly been itching to get back
to Europe, watching from the US as the
continent slowly reopened its borders
and started to tentatively feel its way
into the new normal. Work in Paris
and Milan is already booked. “There’s
actually been a lot of work I haven’t
been able to do in July because I wasn’t
in Europe, which has been opening up
much quicker than America,” he says.
As this slow move out of lockdown
occurred, he explains that “a lot of the
luxury brands had to create content
very quickly.” But that’s not to say he
hasn’t been involved, albeit virtually.
“I’ve been on a lot of calls, on a Zoom
meeting with Mrs Prada and Pat
McGrath,” he explains. “It’s not easy.
I had to direct one of my brilliant Italian
assistants, who was there doing the hair.
I wanted to reach through the screen.”
He continues: “We came up with
an idea and I then had to test the look
in New York, photograph and film it,
send it to Prada, then send it on to my
assistant and get her to recreate it.”
He admits it’s all been a little
“weird”, referring also to a project with
McQueen where the label was keen to
reproduce the hair from the A/W20
show for its campaign, and Guido was
called upon to digitally lead one of his
assistants present. “I hope that doesn’t
continue – I like to be there, to do that
final touch.”
That is now mouth-wateringly
on the horizon. A presentation for
Dior in July had no live audience but
a digital audience of 20 million. “It
was a scaled-down production but
still exquisite. And we took every
precaution,” he explains. “People
will go back to session with different
mindsets, different attitudes.”
In Europe, some shows are being
planned, such as an outdoor event
outlined by Burberry, a show that
Guido regularly leads on hair. “It’s
really exciting,” he says. “In general,
I think brands would love to do
shows and be creative, but the news
changes each day. So, at the moment
it’s fingers crossed that there will be
presentations and some small shows.”
But what will continue, and what
the new landscape will look like for
fashion and for the globe-trotting
session stylist in general, is still hazy.
With just weeks before the Fashion
Week circus would normally begin
in New York, everything is still in
question. “New York has been hit hard,
and I’m not sure what will happen. It’s
very tense there, and September might
not be the right time…” he says.
However, he is adamant that
because of the impact of the pandemic,
the “crazy political time” in the US and
the global protests fuelling the Black
Lives Matter movement, that “we’re
going to see some great creativity,
especially young talent reacting
to what’s happening”. He explains:
“Young people are more political and
more aware, and all of that together
will create a great creative moment.”
It’s all there, tantalisingly close. And
it’s the anticipation that is exciting.
“I’m not sure what kind of hair I want
to do,” he laughs. “I just want to be
more creative, to feel like myself.
I think I lost a bit of that in all this.”
We couldn’t agree more.
FASHION FORWARD
FASHION WAS LEFT SCRAMBLING TO FIND ITS
FOOTING WHEN COVID-19 HIT, BUT SOME
HAVE ALREADY SHOWN WHAT’S POSSIBLE…
CENTRAL SAINT MARTINS
A brilliant illustration of a creative industry
finding a way forward, the iconic art school
curated a 20-minute film showcasing the
collections of all 106 graduating BA Fashion
students. Long-time sponsor L’Oréal
Professionnel linked students to hairstylists
to collaborate virtually. See more in Runway
A/W20 next month.
NABIL NAYAL
Revlon Professional global influencer, John
Vial, created the hair for images that the
brand shot for Nabil’s virtual show and
played as part of the BFC’s move to a digitalonly,
gender-neutral event instead of the
biannual London Fashion Week Men’s.
BURBERRY
The British brand has announced that it is
planning a virtual fashion show for its
S/S21 collection, with designer Riccardo
Tisci saying it would pay homage to the
label’s heritage of outdoor pursuits with an
outside event that will be streamed globally.
CREATIVE HEAD
45