It's not easy to interview Guido Palau without feeling wildly insecure about one's hair. Even over a badly lit Zoom session, it's clear that visual information is being constantly absorbed.
"I would say that you want your hair to look and feel undone, nonchalant, kind of easy," he said, staring intently through the computer screen. "Like you haven't bothered too much, but you still are aware of how you look. It's cut a certain length, it has a certain color, a deliberately natural texture."
He's spot-on, of course, which is hardly surprising since Mr. Palau is "the world's most in-demand hair stylist," according to Vogue magazine. Over a 30-year-plus career, Mr. Palau -- known in the fashion world simply as "Guido" -- is legendary for his transformative coiffures. He's the go-to hairstylist for all the top magazines, prominent fashion shows, and advertising campaigns. He is also considered to be one of the major forces behind the grunge movement of the 1990s, and through his bold designs still continues to challenge the aesthetic of what defines contemporary beauty.
Now, he has published a book called "#HairTests," a spiral-bound, 132-page curation -- "a scrapbook," he calls it -- that captures his remarkable sculptural styles, shot mostly over the course of the pandemic, and entirely on his iPhone.
"The book wouldn't have happened without Instagram and the iPhone," he said while in Bridgehampton, where he spent much of the pandemic with his partner, Bill Tansey, an artist. "It was very much a product of today's fascination -- we all take pictures on our phone of whatever we like. And mine happens to be hair. I always say that everybody probably has enough [material] in their phones to create a book of whatever their interest is, whether it be flowers, or the meals they like, the walks they take, or furniture. We all have a creation of some sort on our phones. My creation is hair."
These creations are portrayed in "#HairTests," published by Dover Street Market New York, upon the heads of models (mostly unknowns) who are always shot in profile, without makeup or accessories, and against a neutral background. His fantastical designs are the sole focus. Locks are cut in chunky, staggered layers, tinted in shocking rainbow hues, constructed as gravity-defying updos, fanned out extravagantly, or given a whimsical pudding bowl cut.
His intention was never to produce a look book of "wearable" hairstyles, like something you might flick through at your local hair salon for inspiration. This is his version of a sketchbook of extreme looks, to create what he calls "a certain tension." He wants viewers to form an opinion, to have a discourse about what constitutes beauty, to appreciate the limitless possibilities of hair, and question the definition of good and bad taste.
Although, he added, "I do think 70 percent of the hairstyles in the book, you could see a kind of youthful being wearing something like that." It's true, while the photographs clearly celebrate the diversity of today's population and the blurring of male and female identities, its pinpoint focus isn't on your average grown-up.
Mr. Palau, 59, was born on the south coast of England to Anglo-Iberian parents. After "not liking school and it not liking me," he decided to become a hairdresser, not out of a passion but simply because he couldn't think of what else to do. He moved to London in 1981 and found work at Vidal Sassoon's salon, which was then a temple of trendiness. He lasted 18 months before getting fired, then spent several years in various other salons until eventually working on editorial shoots.
His big break came in 1990, when he was hired for the George Michael "Freedom! '90" music video, which featured Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, and other supermodels in their prime. From that point on, he became one of the busiest men in fashion, deploying his shears, sprays, and gels to help interpret on the catwalk the visions of global designers like Calvin Klein, Prada, Louis Vuitton, and Yves Saint Laurent.
Over the decades, he collaborated with photographers such as Steven Meisel, Richard Avedon, and David Sims, became global creative director of Redken, the hair product company, and published two books, in 2000 and 2014, that showcased his avant-garde styles. In 2009, he was included on the British Fashion Council's list of "25 Most Powerful People in the Fashion Industry," alongside Alexander McQueen, John Galliano, Kate Moss, and Naomi Campbell. And, in 2011, he created the headpieces for the "Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty" exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Today, his sleight of hand is still very much in demand as he continues to style the covers of fashion magazines and runways around the world.
Yet, despite all this, Mr. Palau is a remarkably self-effacing and charming interviewee, ending most of his stories and anecdotes with "Do you know what I mean?" as though an understanding of his heady world is possible for everyone. (For example: "I recently worked with Adele for British Vogue with Steven Meisel. We had so much fun. She even sang during the shoot. The same with Lady Gaga. She was so professional and so much fun. Do you know what I mean?")
Mr. Palau said the idea for "#HairTests" originated from his behind-the-scenes iPhone photographs of models as he conceptualized for fashion shows. "My iPhone was like a sketchbook of ideas," he said. He'd then post the shots on Instagram, using the hashtag "HairTest," which was spotted by Idea Books, a small independent publishing house in London, which approached him about doing a book.
Then, when Covid hit and the fashion world shut down, he began to print out these images from his Instagram library, spreading them out on the living room floor of his partner's Bridgehampton home. He began conceptualizing the book.
"When we started coming out of Covid, I began to produce little shoots," he said. "I would rent a small space, and if there were any models in New York, I would invite them to the studio. I also did street casting and I just created these sketches of hairstyles."
The first edition was limited to 1,000 copies, which sold out quickly, though copies are available on resale sites such as AbeBooks.
The experience of working solo was a rare one for Mr. Palau, after years of collaborating with designers, photographers, editors, and makeup artists. He said he always enjoyed the team effort, then added, "It was lovely to work singularly. Without anyone making any comments, and someone always editing your work. Do you know what I mean?"
For once, the answer was yes.
