House of Gucci: Authenticity in hairdressing

Authenticity in hairdressing in “House of Gucci” was achieved by combining the expertise and professional integrity of Lady Gaga and Joico Celebrity Hairstylist, Frederic Aspiras.

In House of Gucci, Lady Gaga stars in the role of Patrizia Reggiani, dubbed by the Italian press as the “black widow”. This highly controversial woman ordered the murder of her husband Maurizio Gucci, then heir to the luxury fashion brand of the same name. Gaga focused on achieving her embodiment of the character also through an authenticity in hairdressing, capturing the looks and trends of an era. This is why Gaga turned to none other than her long-time personal hairstylist and Joico Celebrity Hairstylist, Frederic Aspiras. Together their efforts succeeded in telling the story visually – and for her experientially – via the hairstyles donned in the film.

The culture of the craft

In designing Gaga’s spot-on looks for the character of Patrizia from the 1970s to the 1990s, Aspiras embarked on a deeply personal creative mission. His ultimate objective was to achieve absolute authenticity in hairdressing. Aspiras – and Gaga – anticipated that the industry and the public would be eager to indulge in a precise historic retrospective.

This is why Joico invited guests to a chic reception at the London West Hollywood in Beverly Hills complete with red carpet! The event also featured a first-look screening of the House of Gucci and an up-close Q & A with Frederic himself. It was a uniquely thrilling moment for film, for hair, and for Hollywood. Guests enjoyed a presentation that took them through the various looks. This provided unique insight into Aspiras and Gaga’s quest to achieve absolute authenticity in hairdressing to recreate the character of Patrizia.

Authenticity in hairdressing

All great artists embark on their professional and creative journeys by studying and imitating the greats before them. And it was no different for Frederic Aspiras. During his presentation he revealed to the audience how intricate the hairstyling for the movie was.

“I had to be as authentic as possible, using the exact techniques as a hairdresser of the 1970’s. Wet-set rolls, back-combing, French lacing… spiral perms – you name it. It was done exactly to ‘T’ from that era,” Aspiras explained. Frederic and Gaga insisted that the audience “not see Lady Gaga” on the screen, but rather the character of Patrizia.

Actually, there were very few photos of Patrizia as a young woman. As a result, Aspiras had to research what an Italian woman of the era would look like. What were the trends that may have influenced her? It was vital to achieve an authenticity in hairdressing. “I wanted the texture, I wanted the vibe, I wanted the feel, the way it moved. All this was needed to transport you to that time.“

Extraordinary professionalism

Moreover, Aspiras further revealed there were about 55+ looks throughout the film and he used 10 hero wigs. In addition to using the genuine techniques of the time to attain authenticity in hairdressing, Aspiras said the right products were also key. Just for starters, there was the coloring and styling “ten-thousand-dollar wigs” that were fragile. Then there was a further complication. Gaga also wanted her signature platinum blonde-colored hair, colored brown to be as true to the character as possible. But this was only half the problem! She then insisted on blonde hair again for the press tour and premieres. So Joico hair care and color were key in maintaining both the integrity and style of Gaga’s hair and the wigs.

Frederic Aspiras also dedicated his work on the film to his mother, who passed away earlier this year. The audience was noticeably touched when Aspiras became emotional remembering her. Indeed, Aspiras’s mother was a also a hairdresser: So she was actually the first to teach him many of the old techniques used for the film.