HOWARD MCLAREN: CURRENT INSPIRATION + HAIR LEGENDS

For Education: The Hair Legends

“A problem with today’s hair industry is that the legends have been forgotten. For Garren, Thom and I, part of the reason we got involved in R+Co was to bring back what was beautiful about the people who created our industry—before it became about deconstructed hairstyles and learning on YouTube. For a lot of young people, the more they hear about iconic hairdressers like Antoine de Paris or Alexandre de Paris or Leonard Lewis, the more they realize that’s information that’s valuable to how you live and work as a hairdresser now. But you have to teach them. It’s something we try to bring to our education and, every time we do, it’s to show young hairdressers there’s inspiration beyond the past five years. How we deliver this education too, is important. It’s hair history, yes, but how do we take that inspiration and not copy it but apply it in everyday life? History is missing today; people will Google ‘20s hair’ and come back with the movie The Great Gatsby from a few years ago! How deep do you want to go? How original do you want to be? Sure, when you learn the history, it can seem useless. But mentally, you’re building up an encyclopedia of information to form and shape who you want to be as a hairdresser today.”

For Products: Skin Care

“I look a lot at the [skin care] industry. I remember a few years ago I tried this facial cream that when you rubbed it on your face it turned to power. So I created a hair product off of that! At R+Co, we make hybrids of products because there are a million gels, but what’s the next level of gels? What can you bring that’s new to it? You want to have that high-tech ability to it, which I’ve really found skin care leads in.”

For Hairstyles: The ’60s Mod Scene

“I just watched the ‘Tin Soldier’ video by the band Small Faces. I was a mod when I was young, and I always loved lead singer Steve Marriot and the band’s approach and humor to the whole mod scene. Their hair is amazing. It’s just so sexy and natural. A lot of times, when I want inspiration, I look back at the bands from that era (the ’60s). Even (The Doors front man) Jim Morrison’s hair was beautiful.”

For Life Outside of Hair: Dieter Rams

“Dieter Rams is an industrial designer who worked for Braun in the 1960s. He worked with these amazing technicians and they made these hi-fis called ‘Snow White’s Coffin’—they are so beautiful and highly collectible. Everything he did, from his blow dryers to office desk fans to clocks, he’s just a genius. He has a book called Less and More: The Design Ethos of Dieter Rams worth reading. To me, he’s the product guy, the designer.”

For upcoming R+Co Education Events, visit tickets.randco.com.