Editorial hair stylist Bill Watson says inspiration comes from anywhere. Aakriti Narang reports
At first glance, the hustle and bustle of autos, honking cars and people chattering away as they sip the remnants of their Starbucks or Café Coffee Day espresso in GK II market did not strike us as extraordinary. However, an observant individual will spot, in the midst of this marketplace, a group of men and women working quietly, patiently yet diligently to enhance and refine India’s quality of hairdressing. Nurturing them was Bill Watson, International Artistic and Educational Director at Toni & Guy.
Watson didn’t want to give the impression that the launch of a global hair salon academy is all about a foreigner. “We all worked together to create the looks. It was pretty much like a rolling demo. It involved a little bit of coaching, showing the guys some new skills and then working on it and practising it,” he said.
The hair salon chain decided to start an academy in Delhi as they believe that there is talent here to which they could bring their knowledge and expertise. “It’s meant to enrich and help young Indians to follow their dreams,” said Watson. He also emphasised that they believe in harnessing local talent. “In Russia, it is run by Russians, in China by Chinese and in India it is run by Indians. We will educate people in our academy but they have their own personality. We encourage this mixture of cultures as it makes our company more interesting. This mix will result in something unique and give us an advantage,” said Watson.
Hair styling is not just limited to cutting, straightening, curling or colouring someone’s hair while standing behind a chair in a salon. It is possible to go one step further and obtain a cosmetology degree from a beauty school and become an editorial stylist. Watson described his journey to become one: “My mum and dad loved cinema so my first heroes and icons were movie stars. I am the youngest of five siblings, all of whom were interested in fashion and art. Naturally, I am heavily influenced by the interests of my older siblings. I was interested in the way people looked, visually.”
With so much competition in the market and the pressure to produce something original, each person has a different source of inspiration. For Watson, “It can come from anywhere. I love listening to music, watching movies and travelling. I’m very observant and I love discovering new things. My mind is never switched off. But, I don’t get distracted easily from my work. In ordinary life, such as walking down the street, I can get distracted in a matter of seconds.”
Watson started his career in a small salon in New Zealand, where he was born. It was a pleasant place to work at but he quit it 27 years back as they didn’t aspire to do anything above and beyond what they had achieve. “I needed a more intense environment to bring the best out of me,” said the 53-year-old.
And if you thought, the work of an editorial stylist is all glam and no hard work, think again. Watson carries 80 kg of electrical equipment on an average for a shoot. “It’s similar to asking someone, ‘how much equipment would you take with you to build a buildingIJ’ There is a complete kit. You take all sizes of tongs and all sizes of crimpers, including three blow-dryers in case two blow up, even your own electrical boards. You take pins and grips of all weights, sizes, colours and denominations. You need to carry products for all sorts of hair — dry, shiny, wet, hard and soft. Occasionally, magazines send a brief before the shoot — the lighting, the models, the idea behind the shoot and so forth. I’m very keen on rehearsals and I have a little doll at home on to try out my ideas.”
Watson has done a plethora of shoots for the london and Shanghai Fashion Weeks. When it comes to deciding on his favourite fashion designer, he hesitates. “They’ve all made me better by asking me to do things that I thought I couldn’t do. I really enjoyed working with Bora Aksu in london. Bora didn’t follow trends, nor did he create any. Bora was just Bora himself. He wouldn’t ask, but I would end up doing things to hair that I had never thought of simply on account of his encapsulating vision,” he said.
India’s hot and humid climate calls for some expert advice on how to manage your hair. “It’s a myth that products used at salons are harsh. if you are going to a professional saloon. I would advise you to keep experimenting and that wouldn’t be necessarily harmful for your hair.” However, he has a word of caution. “Platinum hair for instance should be attempted on short hair. The treatment will damage long hair. I do realise that we are inspired by celebrities who have long platinum hair but they’ve all got personal hairdressers.”
India has changed since the first time he came here 19 years ago. “Women having hair above shoulder height was unheard of. Some women have tattoos. Not just women, even men are more experimental now. They sport beards, moustaches, fades and long hair, all of which was absent previously,” he said adding, “Changing your hairstyle to express your character is the best reason for change. Don’t change your hairstyle just because some celebrity did it. Change it because your personality calls for it.”
But is your hairstyle or your clothing that has a bigger impact on the way we visually portray our identityIJ Watson believes it is one’s hairstyle – for a reason. He said, “You can’t leave it in the closet. We have all bought dodgy jeans and dodgy shirts which are banished to the back of our closet till the day they’re thrown away. The trouble with a haircut is that you are stuck with it for at least six weeks. For the next six weeks, people will identify you with that new haircut.”