Estetica had the opportunity to meet with the one and only Angelo Seminara in Amsterdam. Read here our exclusive interview.
Goldwell Global Ambassador Angelo Seminara presented his latest hair collection live in Amsterdam during the Kao Salon Global Experience 2022, where e combined an inspirational film presentation with live models on stage to create an exciting, disruptive hairshow. Known for his avant-garde, award winning style, Angelo Seminara is one of the most globally celebrated hairdressers. Seminara was named Goldwell Global Ambassador in the Summer of 2020.
How did you come up with the idea of reinventing the concept of a hair show?
“It’s something I started doing a while ago. I wanted to make shows more sustainable and at the same time use the content we create in a different way, such as on social media. The essence of a show is to get together, to have fun and to enjoy the spectacle. With ‘Hair Every Wear 2.0’ I wanted to create a dialogue as a means to share and communicate with my colleagues, especially after three years without seeing each other. I therefore thought we needed to create something special and entertaining, while keeping it simple at the same time.“
You commented that you don’t see yourself as a master, but as an eternal student.
“Yes. I always feel like I’m chasing after something. I need to feel I always have new goals and challenges to achieve, ones which can also enhance and grow my role as a hairdresser. I therefore feel it’s better to stay always humble and to accept that sometimes you need to go into a room, lock yourself in and just practice. While I was working in the salon with Trevor Sorbie, one day he pulled me to one side. He told me that I needed to understand that in this industry it’s 50/50: you can’t just be artistic; if you don’t understand business as well, you can’t survive. It’s important for young hairdressers to think like that, because nowadays there are so many more opportunities for people to grow than there were in the past. This doesn’t mean success is guaranteed – you still have to try.“
Sometimes is good to fail – it pushes you to learn and grow.
“I definitely agree. Strangely, I sometimes think it’s better to lose in a hair competition. I know people who’ve been nominated for years and they never win. However, if you look at their career, it would probably have stalled if it wasn’t for their desire to keep competing So it’s not about the destination, for me it’s the journey that really matters – that is what’s really important in life.“
These days you are presenting your new tool, Solage. What is it all about?
“I like what this tool Solage can do. It’s able to achieve the most beautiful results in a really natural way. This is because, as its name suggests, it gives a really sun-kissed effect. We’re talking about the effects of light and creating something that looks really natural. If you learn how to use Solage confidently, you can have great fun creating one colour, two colours, three colours, subtle effects, babylights… whatever you desire. We have created four new techniques, all based in different lights.“
How would you describe it to your colleagues around the world?
“Imagine we have two Picasso paintings: I’m going to put one in the dark for 5 years and I’m putting the other one outside for the same time. What do you think is going to happen? One of the paintings is going to discolour naturally and that is precisely the beautiful light effect that I wanted to create with hair.”
What excites you the most about our industry?
“For me, the way we do colour and everything about the world of colour – it’s what really interests me. I love working with Goldwell and I am really inspired by the amazing creative opportunities that Elumen and Elumen Play open up for me. Colour for me is the key – it’s also our main business in the salon. I remember never, never, never leaving a client without colour in their chair. You do a great haircut but how can you take it to another level? It’s like turning a light on and you create tridimensionality, texture and volume – all with colour. A beautiful colour also makes the hair look healthier.“
What is your relationship with fashion and art?
“I like to work with installations and fashion curators around the world, because it really isolates me from what I normally do. It takes me into a world that I don’t know as well as I might. I’ve been so lucky working in places like China, Korea, USA, Mexico, France, Italy and Austria. I was recently at the Venice biennale, with the amazing fashion and art curator, Judith Clark.“
Watch here the ‘Hair Every Wear 2.0’ film by Angelo Seminara, launched at KSGE 2022: