With a celebrity clientele that spans Hollywood A-Listers to British TV, music and radio personalities, star stylist Kevin Fortune is taking tinseltown by storm. In his blog series, we go behind the scenes with Kevin as he coiffs the locks of some familiar faces.
It’s early evening on Monday 1st of December and I’m rushing back home to get myself ready for the event of the year, the 2014 British Fashion Awards. Well! The after-party…word is out that a certain supermodel is hosting her very own after-soiree!
I have just finished creating a beautiful hairstyle for Pixie Geldof: ‘Stream-lined cane-rows with an edge’, using a mixture of products to give a subtle wet-effect. Having perfected her eyeliner and lashes, and coiffed Nick Grimshaw’s crowning glory, I see them off in their blacked-out limo, bound for the awards show dinner. Then, I hop back on the tube – home, much faster!
It’s such an adrenaline rush getting my clients ready for a special event and seeing images hit the beauty press almost imminently. Last week, I worked with Alexa Chung on the launch of her nails inc. collection ‘The Alexa Editions’ at Selfridges. This lady is going from strength to strength. “I want tight, neat plaits, please”, Alexa said to me. So after I blow-dried her hair, Alexa plaited her own hair and, of course, she knew the style would work beautifully with the Vilshenko ensemble she had selected. I love making-up Alexa’s flawless face, even though she’d look great stepping-out with toothpaste on her chin!
One of my favorite women in the world, the beautiful Kim Cattrall, also made a spectacular appearance last week, at Sunday’s Evening Standard Theatre Awards, wearing a stunning red vintage dress that showed off her magnificent figure. Earlier that evening, I got stuck in traffic on the way to Kim’s to get her ready – always remember, it’s so not a good look to arrive late in a panic! So, calm and collected, I completed her look with beautiful, glowing skin and effortless, soft waves and 1.5 hours later she is ready to wow the crowds and London’s theatre elite alike.
Ahhhh! I really adore these two iconic women. So confident, super-intelligent and with their sense of humour, talent and charm they truly turn people to putty in their hands.
We have also had an amazing first week kicking-off our winter The Art Of Hair Styling course-series at the Academy. My personal highlight was challenging stylists on the Period Styling Techniques course to learn intricate Marcel-waving techniques. Not easy, that’s for sure – yet I get such great pleasure from seeing stylists master handling and twisting the tongs confidently, knowing that they are well on their way to creating their very own awe-inspiring styles on their clients for future editorial shoots, or for red-carpet and special events. As a versatile session stylist, you never know when you will be called upon to corn-row, plait or create certain period waves – so it’s our job to know and stay up-to-date with key techniques!
Right now though, I need to work out what jacket to wear – jeans? boots? – to make a great entrance of my own at tonight’s parties. It’s only 7pm, so I have some time to work this out. Decisions, decisions; I say, “Embrace the ‘champagne problems’ when work gets really hectic!”
XKevin