How to acquire great taste and develop a beautiful aesthetic is hard to explain, but in 2020 Simon Ellis delivers something of a masterclass through his use of social media and YouTube!
An arbiter of taste
A hairdresser by trade (many years with Vidal Sassoon before a move to a brand), Simon Ellis is the international creative director at Schwarzkopf Professional, Brit-born but based in Germany. Despite his corporate role, he remains intent on putting hairdressers at the heart of every brand decision and is a massive hair influencer in our view. Take one look at his Instagram account @thesimonellis and you’ll find confirmation that he is also a fine curator of well-crafted, inspirational and beautiful hair imagery. In short, he has taste!
Masterclass launch
For 2020, we’re intrigued to see Simon launch a new series of Masterclass on You Tube. He describes his motivation as being to share his know-how on creative direction, casting, teamwork, branding, production and creativity! Yep, in a short sessions (there will be 12) you can sit infront of the real Simon Ellis and discover more about building a long-lasting career and learn how its done.
We have loved the first couple already launched, and caught up with Simon recently, to chat with him about where the hairdressing industry is, right now. What does he see coming up next?
“Hairdressers – because of their technical expertise and, because of clients fear of making mistakes with cuts and colours, is the service most likely to bounce back after the ‘Lockdown’. There is a huge recognition that the hairdresser is a person of vital importance as someone who delivers a sense of self-esteem and wellbeing to their customer…. I strongly believe that the industry will come out stronger, leaner and fitter.
“In my opinion (as an an industry Old Dog who also had to navigate my last business through the AIDS crisis), the opportunities will be; ability and acceptance to raise core service prices; more differentiation of products vs retail via premium, professional-only services; and more prescriptive, in-salon-to-take-home products. I think that focus should be on bespoke treatments, service s and products that enhance professional expertise.”
As for future market developments this is his view.
“Stockpiling habits that became normal during Lockdown will stick. Large volume sizes of shampoo, conditioner and styling products will become shopping-list staples as consumers retain a fear of running out of vital products. Sustainability will remain in focus but will be less important to consumers than personal safety. Despite the Internet’s attractive pricing and convenience, the in-depth knowledge of hairdressers is still an opportunity to win if linked to e-coms as the payment/delivery mechanism.”
We’re aware of changes to salons in enforcing social distancing and increased hygiene. Simon puts it like this:
“Salons will likely have fewer chairs. This means, reduced volume and increased prices. This may potentially make them rethink their business models, eg to share retail spaces such as a combined clothing/fashion, café and hairdressing salon where rent is shared. Or salon suites, where space is rented by individual hairdressers with additional facility to offer services as part of the rental (client bookings, laundry, products etc.”
Thank you! Much appreciated.
You can access the Masterclasses as they are released (there are two up already) by CLICKING HERE. (The upcoming timetable is published below)
Episode 1: Building a Career
Episode 2: The Power of Hair
Episode 3: Channeling Creativity
Episode 4: Building a Portfolio
Episode 5: Learning about Leadership
Episode 6: Growing a Business
Episode 7: The Story behind Essential Looks
Episode 8: Understanding Marketing
Episode 9: Creating New Beauty Standards
Episode 10: Personal Secrets of Success
Episode 11: The Importance of Failure
Episode 12: The Future of the Industry
_________________________
Here online you may browse our Portfolio section to find inspiration from the greatest hair artists… read our Blog to discover the top events and what we like about them, then visit our Magazine section to read the latest edition (and archive editions) of Tribu-te publications. If you’d like to enjoy your very own edition of Tribu-te delivered direct to your home – vist the Shop to order a subscription to arrive quarterly. And of course, once a year, you can visit the Tribu-te Show – it’s an awesome presentation of the leading hairdressers on the best stage possible in central London each October! Contact us if you have any questions or would like to submit photography and ideas for any of our editions in Europe – we’re particulary keen to see your salons for our Design section both in print and online.
Tribu-te magazine is produced by Seven Publications, Paris and you can find our Privacy Policy here.