The Coterie news

Wow! What a crazy week! It’s been back to back, and it’s not slowing down. But I’m having the time of my life working with some amazing professionals in hair and fashion – and all for a good cause. Here’s what my week has entailed…

It kicked off with the launch of a magazine called RECOGNISE. I’m going to be styling the magazine’s A-list cover models – very exciting. RECOGNISE is a socially aware lifestyle magazine that features a cool, eclectic mix of fashion, travel, gadgets, food and beauty. I just think it’s brilliant and much needed in the fast-paced world we live in today. Ethical fashion is becoming cool in its own right, making a move from catwalk to high street and attracting celebrity fans along the way, including Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman, Brad Pitt, Leona Lewis and Leonardo DiCaprio, to mention a few. See below for some S/S10 ethical looks in the magazine and the launch party.

Talking about changing lives, early on this week I set off to Banbury to visit the Racoon international head office for training on the company’s Hair in Recovery programme. It’s a service that provides an alternative to wigs for women suffering from medical hair loss. Hair in Recovery gives women a tested, approved and trusted hair extension service while their hair is growing back. As Racoon’s Young Rising Star ambassador, I will be supporting this brilliant programme, which I’m really delighted about, as I can help women get their identity back. It’s so rewarding to be able to offer this service to women who are going through such a difficult time.

I had the opportunity to work with three amazing professionals during the training: Eva Proudman, managing director of Racoon, who is so unbelievably passionate about Hair in Recovery; Ian Sallis, trichologist (aka a walking encyclopedia), who made sure I knew every piece of detail about the hair process during chemotherapy; and the fantastic Rachel Bloodworth from the Macmillan Cancer Support group. I’ve already been part of Trevor Sorbie’s My New Hair campaign during the last year, which has been a truly rewarding experience, and Racoon’s Hair Recovery is a very exciting and much needed follow-on.

Another charity event I’m proud to be working on later in April at The Walkers Stadium in Leicester is to raise awareness and help women who suffer from cancer. I’ll be previewing and custom-cutting the Racoon’s newest wig. Many women dislike wigs, but this new one is so light and the quality of the hair is so incredible, it’s going to revolutionise the market. I believe that we can help change people’s lives during chemotherapy. I spoke about this on BBC Radio Leicester yesterday, check out the website for more information.

Time to give back to the industry too, and this week I planned my tour with ghd, where I’ll be travelling with the art team around the UK showcasing cool cuts and great session techniques. I’m pictured with Nicola Steinbach, ghd professional brand strategy manager (aka ghd queen), and Darren Bain, hob salons senior educator, who will be mentoring me along with the other artistic team members and Akin Konizi. The tour kicks off in Cardiff next week, then travels to London, up to Scotland and over to Ireland while stopping off at a few places in between, so there’s no reason to miss it. Anybody who wants to attend can get a free ticket through their ghd account manager. Let the fun begin!

I have been hugely inspired by the movie In The Mood For Love for a shoot I’m doing this weekend with singer Melody Gardot. It’s so beautiful and poetic. Directed by the great Kar Wai Wong, the camera immortalises every tiny detail in each frame, from cigarette smoke to droplets of rain. It really is a masterpiece. I can’t reveal too much about the shoot, but I wanted to share this piece of art with you on YouTube. It’s funny how inspiration comes in many shapes and forms. (WARNING: you might need a box of tissues…)

I’ve heard so much about Lok Lau, a session stylist who works with magazines such as Lula and Attitude, and have been browsing through his work. I just love the shoot he did in this month’s Elle. It’s great to be part of this influential industry and it’s exciting to be around other young talents.

This week I’ve also been up in Manchester for the L’Oreal Colour Trophy tour. It’s a great event and I look forward to updating you on it next week. Watch this space!

Until next week,
Chris

This entry was posted on Friday, April 16th, 2010 at 1:01 pm and is filed under Guest blogger, Stylists. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.