He’s an award-winning stylist to the rich and the royal, now Andrew Collinge explains why he’s excited to be taking part in Liverpool’s fabulous celebration of fashion and style this month
Fashion looks nothing without good hair, so we have style gurus like Andrew Collinge to thank for being on trend most days.
The Hoylake-based stylist has been one of the leading hairdressers in the UK for the past 20 years so his appearance at the first ever Celebration of Style in Liverpool this month is a definite must-see.
It’s an ambitious event for the city - the brainchild of Justine Mills owner of the WAG’s favourite fashion store Cricket, in collaboration with Denise Harris of SK Events that aims to pay tribute to the region’s fantastic fashion and beauty with workshops, catwalk shows and talks.
Andrew and his team will be getting involved in various ways: hosting pop up masterclass aimed at getting young people interested in the industry, giving hair a makeover in a pop up styling station and styling the hair of the models taking part in the centrepiece fabulous catwalk show.
‘I’m absolutely delighted to have been invited to take part,’ says Andrew.
‘I think it’s a fantastic event. Justine Mills has produced a great brand and has such a good eye for fashion. She has a lot of influence in the fashion industry and although I couldn’t say we are friends we have collaborated a lot over the years. It’s going to be a really top end show.’
Andrew’s story starts and ends in the North West, with forays into London where he honed his craft working for Mayfair’s Michaeljohn and where he also has a home.
‘I used to work with him when he was doing hair for Lord Snowdon’s fashion shoots for Vogue,’ he says.
‘He could put hair up using just one pin. That’s where I learned how to dress hair.’
Andrew was born into the business - part of a ‘dynasty’ which has taken hair styling into the 20th century by not only developing new cutting and dyeing techniques but creating a training arm that ensures future cutters and colour technicians can learn from the best.
His grandfather was a barber and his father, Peter Collinge, honed his craft in the Beatles era in Liverpool eventually, earning an OBE for his services to hairdressing.
Andrew himself has been named Hairdresser of the Year - twice, something he considers to be his crowning achievement.
‘Winning it twice is perhaps more important than winning it once for me as it made it feel just a little more definite,’ he admits.
‘I was the first English hairdresser out of London to win Hairdresser of the Year so I am very proud of that.
He is also proud of the work he and his wife, Liz, did when they had one of the first ever TV makeover slots on ITV’s This Morning programme.
‘That was 26-years-ago,’ says Andrew now a youthful-looking 58-year-old.
‘It was a time when television never really included the public. There were no reality shows so it was quite revolutionary to work with the person on the street. Our makeovers were the most popular slot on This Morning and they resulted in us opening a luxury makeover store in Harrods which then led us to working with the royal family. I did the hair for Sophie Rhys Jones’s wedding to Prince Edward and Autumn Kelly’s wedding to Peter Phillips.’
Now the business has grown to include salons in Chester, Liverpool, Heswall and Manchester and although he is still hands-on for salon shoots and events he divides his energies developing the brand.
‘I am very excited because we have a new product range coming out at the end of the year,’ he reveals.
‘It’s a styling range, essentially the products that are in my kit bag, like the perfect hairspray and styling gel. We have opportunities to go into e-commerce so that’s a bigopportunity.’
And the trends for the season? Hair is all about texture these days he says, citing Jennifer Lawrence and Taylor Swift as examples.
‘We had big hair in the 80s for example and we’ve got big hair now. The difference is then it was all about backcombing, now it’s cut and products.
‘Hair hasn’t changed that much except for cutting and colouring techniques. It’s also about personalising hair to suit the face shape rather than having a specific cut. Colour is now huge too. At one time it was hard to persuade a client to have a fashion colour but now clients see a celebrity with it and they want the same look.’
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Get ready for Christmas - Andrew Collinge’s party hair trends
1. You can have a hidden colour underneath layers of hair so that you see a swish of colour when you put hair up.
2. Keep hair up is looser. You can create a simple chignon with just one pin that looks really effective.
3. You can create a half up do on mid-length hair by taking a section from the crown and backcombing it for a ‘60s Bardot look.
4. Add texture. Modern hair looks less blow dried. you can get loose waves by using styling products for a funky party look
5. If you have a bob try a coup sauvage - a more textured contemporary version.
Andrew Collinge: www.andrewcollinge.com
A Celebration of Style
The Celebration of Style from November 13th-15th includes a designer fashion show, private dinner hosted by fashion designer, Matthew Williamson, pop-up masterclasses and workshops hosted by celebrity make-up artist Cassie Lomas, and a style conference with a panel of VIP industry experts. Visit www.celebrationofstyle.com or further information
