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One of the world's top hair salons is vying for a bigger slice of the Chinese market. Wang Chao reports.
It costs a lot to hire Frankie Chan to attack your head with a pair of scissors. The Toni&Guy Hairdressing China CEO charges 2,500 yuan ($410) for a haircut.
The stylist won acclaim for inventing the "Transcend" women's hairdo he developed when working in the company's London headquarters in 1992. The hairdo gives the effect of waves washing ashore.
Chan hopes to re-create that success in China.
The brand released its 2015 hairstyles collection under the theme of "Lexicon" last week. Chan describes it as "pushing the boundaries".
The collection absorbs London's street and catwalk cultures. It features vibrant colors, layers and geometric shapes.
Toni&Guy was opened by Toni and Guy Mascolo in London in the 1960s and is one of two hair salons that's more than half a century old. (The other is London-based Vidal Sasson.)
It entered China in 2003 and has since opened 30 stores across the country - equal to a fifth of the number it runs in England.
"To use one sentence to summarize our approach, I would say we use more street and youth culture, and the styles are easier to manage in daily life," Chan says.
Toni&Guy is London Fashion Week's official sponsor and designated hairdresser for the catwalk shows of many premium brands such as Alexander McQueen. It recently styled the hair of the models featured in the Mercedes-Benz China Fashion Week's opening and closing shows.
"We only felt relieved when we saw designers smile at us," says Bill Watson, Toni&Guy's education director for China and the Southern Hemisphere.
Watson has traveled the world for 17 years conducting hairstyling classes but says he has never seen a market as dynamic as China's.
"Through the catwalk, we want to bring our concepts and achievements to our Chinese clients," he says.
The salon has been looking for a proper fit for Chinese hair since opening its first store in the country.
"Chinese hair is thinner and straighter, so it is easier to create angles. In Europe, we have to use a lot of products to achieve the effect," the company's international artistic director, Indira Schauwecker, says.
Asian heads tend to be flat on the back, so creating a sense of volume there is very important, she says.
"We can adjust the angles to make the hair heavier or lighter."
The brand has experience with Asian hair. Its first overseas franchise wasn't in New York or Paris but rather in Tokyo.
Chan, who grew up in London, began to create hairstyles inspired by Asian culture five years ago. His "Chopsticks" five years ago won him "the vanguard hairstyle of the year" within Toni&Guy "for its mysterious Oriental feelings".
Toni&Guy also launched its "Future Foundation" series along with Lexicon. Every four years, it creates a dozen basic hairstyles based on which hairdressers can design new styles and improvise on their customers.
"It is about classics," Watson says.
"Classics don't mean old-fashioned. They mean footprints from the past. Fashion is tied up with technology, which is not what customers want, but technology can make new creations possible."
Trends come and go, and it seems people always want what they don't have, Chan says.
He points out a phenomenon he has observed in Europe and Asia.
"If people have straight hair, they curl it. When they have thick hair, they thin it," he says.
"But, sometimes, natural is better."
His Chinese customers generally fall into three groups, he says - conservative, trendy and unconventional.
Since his styles are expensive, most of his customers are lawyers and bankers, the types prefer conservative styles, he adds.
"I miss the days when I cut young people's hair," he says.
While Western people use hairstyles to express themselves, Chinese are typically more concerned about whether the cut looks good, Chan says.
"There used to be a wrong perception among Chinese clients that fashion was about money. They would buy an expensive bag and believe it was fashion. But, actually, cheap stuff can be fashionable if it is different.
"Punk is now a fashion trend. But it originated in the poor neighborhoods in London where teenagers couldn't afford a good haircut. So they mixed water and sugar and made their hair stand up."
But Chinese perceptions are changing, Chan says.
"People are learning about fashion history and international trends quickly from the media and the Internet."
Yet misconceptions persist, he says.
"Some Japanese and Korean styles are very popular among the young. But the problem is that they thin their hair too much with shavers, causing damage to the hair. Whatever damages your hair - don't do it."
Chan's mission in China extends beyond hairdressing to expanding Toni&Guy's presence.
The company plans to open five new stores in the country annually from next year. It will examine second- and third-tier cities.
"We can make more money in these cities, as the rent is much cheaper," Chan says.
In Beijing's hip Sanlitun area, for example, it costs 25 million yuan a year to rent a 500-square-meter salon.
"In Beijing and Shanghai, we build our image," Chan says. "It is in the smaller cities where we make our money."
Contact the writer at wangchao@chinadaily.com.cn
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Models display Toni&Guy's 2015 hairstyles under the theme of "Lexicon" in Beijing. Photos Provided to China Daily |
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A model shows a hairstyle called "Chopsticks". |
