Hair-Here, There, and Everywhere
John Nollett is the kind of stylist that takes wash, cut, and dry to a wholly other level. In reality, and all kidding aside, he is a modern master, the kind that can turn tricks with hair, creating pieces of work that define the moment—or the movie, as it were. Nollett is the hairstylist of choice for the Hollywood set, the one filmmakers turn to over and over to create characters that define a film and/or a trend long after a film has left the theater.
His incredible talent found a logical outlet on the silver screen, where fantasy and reality both demand that the look be impeccable, or real, or whimsical, or all of the above. Nothing he can’t handle. Nollett has created styles that have solidified many of the modern screen’s most recognized characters for moviegoers, from Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean to the ingénue Amelie to Vanessa Paradis in La Fille Sur Le Pont. “Artisan is the word that best describes everything I do,” Nollett comments. “
And his hair accessories are unlike any out there. No fancy Goody barrettes or faux diamond-studded headbands, Nollett designs the haute couture headbands, combs, tiaras, and feathers, hair accessories that are fashioned out of real human hair. Nollett said that one of his motivations for creating the accessories was to help the actresses he works with change roles (and often hairstyles) between scenes, or between events in their personal life.
Now he is taking his own show on the road: Nollett has fashioned a traveling salon called Hair Room Service Around the World, a complete set up that goes with him in a set of bespoke Louis Vuitton luggage (how else could luxury travel?). The pieces unpack to build a mini version of the real place (his Paris salon is in the fashionable 2nd arrondissement, at 32 rue Montorgueil). Nollett said he ran the idea by Antoine Arnault (son of famed Bernard Arnault, the head of LVMH) who helped him to fashion a made-to-measure trunk designed for his jaunts, which he is bringing to ten cities around the world, from Buenos Aires to Tokyo.
He will even fashion a piece for a client if they desire a particular look not already in the collection, as the designer who creates the pieces is one of the crew on the Around the World tour.
Having traveled the globe as Nollett has, one can expect that he has hundreds of glorious photos of worldly locales; indeed, he has the snaps to prove it. Nollett likes to call himself an image maker, realizing over time that he his role on set is just as important as those image-makers in getting the look just right. His work on many films has led him to desire a place behind the camera too, and Nollett is starting to work as a director and image-maker on a more ongoing basis.
For those who will be in France, or Paris, more particularly, Nollett’s maintains a regular gig (beside that at his salon) for Hair Room Service at Paris’ perennially popular Hotel Costes, and in season at the Hotel Cheval Blanc located in gorgeous ski town Courchevel.
—CindiC
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