Colour NOTES

Artistic Director at Brooks & Brooks, Marlon Hawkins, talks micro trends, flying colours and client connections

What do you love most about being a colourist?

For me, it’s the connections you get with somebody through hair transformations. Of course it happens with cutting too, but colour completely changes complexion. You create a different personality, a different character.

THE SECRET LIVES OF COLOUR
A beautiful book by Kassia St Clair with meaning, it sparks inspiration for me.

What is the most important question you ask in a colour consultation and why?

For me, it’s not a one-size-fits-all approach. Consultation is the time and the journey within the communication – to connect with the client and lead them professionally.

What do you think will be the next big colour trend?

I think multi-dimensional global colour is becoming a big trend. Whether that’s copper, brunette, blonde, red, or transitioning someone to a scalp bleach, it’s all about global colour.

ALEXANDER MCQUEEN
Not only a creative trailblazer, but an inspiring mind that thought differently.

What colour technique are you known for?

I’m known for creating techniques that inspire the hairdresser, excite the client, and leave people with beautiful results. I love looking back into the history of hairdressing and the different colour techniques they used to have, then I will slightly modernise that approach.

What colour trends are you pleased to see out of fashion?

I don’t think trends are dying, I think trends have changed into micro trends because of the rise of individualism. So, I’m happy to see mainstream colour trends leave, and I’m more happy to see micro trends coming in.

MUSIC
I come from a music background and pull a lot of inspiration from music.

Are there any colour trends you’d like to bring back?

I would like to see more of the flying colours technique. It’s a technique where you place the colour on a comb, and run it through the hair.

DAVID BAILEY ROSS
 I love the beauty in the work of watercolour artist David Bailey Ross.

What are the challenges facing colourists right now?

Product companies are constantly excelling and innovating, but how do you keep clients in the chair rather than going elsewhere or doing it at home themselves? For me, it’s keeping yourself educated, knowing the product, and not taking the client in your chair for granted because through digital technology and social media, they have more of an understanding of processes and products that happen within the salon and within hair brands.

What colour creation makes you most proud?

It’s when you see a twinkle in a client's eye, then you know there’s going to be a lifelong relationship between you both. It’s that connection with the person and delivering the result that makes them light up, that's when I feel like I’m most proud of my work.

COLLABORATIONS
Models, work colleagues, the client in the chair, friends – conversations inspire me to create.

What advice would you give to a trainee colourist?

Learn your foundations – all of them – and learn them well. Once you’ve learnt your foundations, look on the shop floor at every single colourist and how they colour differently and why, then find your own unique stamp.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt being a colourist?

There was a period of time where I would never test anything out. Now, I’ve learnt to always test something before doing it, to stop mistakes happening and also, to make my creative vision fully come to life. Take the time to test, experiment, play, and then learn to truly achieve your vision.