Hairdresser of the Month- Lisa Muscat

November 8, 2010 by JPR 

This month Street Style talks to Lisa Muscat of é SALON about winning apprentice of the year, London fashion week and her favourite hair tools.

I discovered your work titled Seraphic, which is very beautiful by the way. What was the thinking behind the shoot? 

Thank you! Seraphic was influenced by International Catwalk trends and global advertising Campaigns; in particular session stylist Guido Palau. I wanted to create something where the hair “dressing” was “undone” and I wanted to create something pure and almost angelic. I collected a series of advertising campaigns such as Prada, Tom Ford and Burberry and transformed elements that inspired me into my work and my creation.

I see a lot of photo shoots by young hairdressers. Your shoot feels like it comes from a certain maturity, who shot them for you and who else contributed to the shoot?
I worked with a fantastic team on this shoot and we all worked together to clearly execute my concept and ideas, and I think having a great team behind you also helps to achieve the balance you look for in a creative shoot through the hair, styling and photographic work.
The team included:
Makeup: Victoria Baron
Styling: Peta-Marie Rixon
Photographer: Paul Scala
Mentor: Emiliano Vitale

Apprentice of the year is such a wonderful thing. Is this something you have been working towards? Also, when did you decide to chase this particular accolade?

What is actually quite interesting is I always wanted to enter Apprentice of the Year for Hair Expo, however, it wasn’t long before the deadline for the Australian Hair Fashion Awards closed when I decided to put this shoot together. That’s why it helps to have such a fantastic team working with you, inspiring you, mentoring you but most importantly, encouraging you.

You have trained with some inspirational hairdressers like Richard Mannah, Robert Bava, Denis Langford to name a few, how did that come about? What have you learnt from them?

Yes, I had the opportunity to be trained by the three of them whilst I was on the Australian F.A.M.E. Team, which I was selected for through a competition I entered in 2009. The three hairdressers are each incredibly talented and inspiring stylists. Denis Langford spoke to us a good deal about stage presence and communication to your audience, Richard Mannah spoke to us about photo shoots and his experience as a hairdresser and Robert Bava did a cutting workshop with us.

I have found that doing hair for a shoot, and doing hair for fashion shows and in the salon means I have to have a completely different approach to hair in these mediums. How do you balance them?

Yes, they are extremely different, but its nice to have the opportunity to be able to do all three and balance them out. Working on hair for a photo shoot and for a fashion show are both absolute privileges and I am very fortunate to be able to do both. To be creative is about opening your heart and your mind to allow the world to see what it is capable of, so I never say no to anything and always try new things and get involved in as many opportunities as I can. However, salon experience is still extremely important to maintain the balance and help control stress levels! Also, our clients are really what inspire fashion and allow us to be creative and try new looks or styles or colours.

What advice would you give to a young hair apprentice who is looking to enter competitions?

Don’t ever give up. Always believe dreams come true. And most importantly believe in yourself even if nobody else does. Work for yourself and do things that make you happy and eventually people will see you shine.

I hear you have just returned from London Fashion Week, can you tell me what you got up to?

Yes, it was fantastic! I worked on 5 shows including Pussy Willow, Satoshi Date, Felicity Brown, Louise Grey and Heikki Salonen. Each show was different and challenging and looks involved braids, knots, accessories, mohawks, buns and a ‘Chanel tucked under bob’.

What are your top five hairdressing tools?

Cloud Nine irons, Vs Sassoon Tongs, Sassoon Denman, L’Oreal Professionnel tecni.art Volume Mousse and Mycurl.

When did you have a “hair-epiphany”, or when did you want to become a hairdresser?

I started in a local salon close to home, working Thursday nights, Saturdays and Sundays, and I loved it straight away. I didn’t know just how big this amazing world of fashion and style was, however, I knew there had to be someone behind it all and knew I wanted to somehow be a part of it.

And how did you get started in the hairdressing business? Did you start at é Salon?

One year into my apprenticeship I moved to é SALON and found an incredible salon, with an amazing mentor in Emiliano Vitale, who believes in his staff and wants to help them grow and succeed as stylists. It was at é SALON that I was introduced to photographic work and fashion shows, and my passion continues to grow every day.

How has é Salon helped you get to where you are now?

My time at é SALON has been truly inspiring. They really believe in each member of staff and are committed to helping each stylist whenever they need it. The salon team inspires me everyday, and allows me to play with hair and do what I love to do!

What are your plans in the future?

Big things I hope! I have some personal goals I would like to achieve work-wise. I want to be involved in much more photographic work, more fashion shows and on an international level. My biggest goal is to hopefully have a salon of my own in a few years.

You can find Lisa Muscat at é SALON

http://www.esalon.com.au/

029487 80011

shop 7/2 Redleaf Ave Wahroonga, NSW 2076

emiliano@esalon.com.au

Written by Jean-Paul Rosette, author of Heads Will Roll

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