Come with us to visit the new “it address” in London: Nicola Clarke at John Frieda, where colorist extraordinaire, Nicola Clarke aka the woman in charge of the most glamorous women hair colour and her wonderful talented team redefine the meaning of gorgeous tresses on a daily basis.
Nicola Clarke
It’s been a few decades since Nicola’s been taking care of Kate Moss, Madonna, Cate Blanchett and many other style icons as well as “regular” women and men.
She took her first steps in the industry at 13, then encountered Sam McKnight who recognised her talent and entrusted the brand and his clients to her care.
Now her role is Creative Colour Director at John Frieda Salons and Color Wow, an amazing brand that takes proper care of colour-treated hair banning unnecessary chemicals and meet the needs of the diverse clientele with an array of products perfect for everyone (also for people with “virgin hair”).
“There’s no point in walking out of a salon with amazing hair if you’re then going to use products that dull or distort your colour” says Nicola.
Busy with countless projects from fashion show to film projects overseas (she took care of the perfectly sun kissed shade of Leonardo Di Caprio in The Beach as well as Jake Gyllenhall, Brad Pitt and many other movie stars) she manages to be a constant presence in the salon.
Location, decor and concept
Located in the lovely Fitzrovia neighborhood, the salon is really beautiful thanks to the work of London Atelier, the architect Avery Agnelli and Miss Clarke herself.
The aesthetic of the place is extremely distinct from the other Frieda salons, practical and industrial thanks to the use of concrete but softened by the presence of the stunning Flor Starkey’s flowers creations, Dyptique candles and rare coffee table books.
Used to collaborative, mentoring environments and friends with some of the most amazing hairdressers all over the world, Nicola has exciting plans for the space that will become a global hub for some of the world’s top colorists and stylists…Tracey Cunningham and her team are expected to do a pop-up at the salon during the spring and she’s also got Leanne Citrone and Renya Xydis on board, working from the salon whenever they’ll be in town as will do Sam McKnight.
The experience and the Team
While definitely a spa junkie and grooming enthusiast Yours Truly is quite conservative with his hair rocking the same curls since forever therefore enlisted Giulia, his bottle blonde teenage sister and lux traveller in the making to have her tresses highlighted, cut and styled to perfection.
We are seated downstairs where we meet Shannon Gallacher young yet very experienced hair colorist at the salon who trained and qualified at John Frieda with Miss Clarke since she was 16…sweet, bubbly and skilled enough to be trusted by Nicola to do clients such as Claudia Schiffer, Tilda Swinton and Ellie Bamber she immediately gets the exact concept my sister has in mind with the help of pictures: “I’d love Kate Moss creamy blonde…my colour now is a tad too bourgeois” she quips…then we happily chat while Shannon applies the foils, followed by a bit of balayage, conditioning treatments and toner.
With hair still damp we are introduced to the disarmingly nice Mark Smith, one of the best stylists in London who has been at John Frieda for 23 years and since on the blackbook of all the most sophisticated londoners as well as fashion brands and superstars like Nicole Kidman…known for his attention to the bone structure and hair texture he consistently delivers touchable, natural looking locks that feel contemporary and sexy.
With cold blonde luscious locks perfectly cut and styled and one of the broadest smiles I’ve ever seen Giulia is then given by Shannon a small piece of paper with her hair color formula “for when you’re in Milan or somewhere else” my sister’s answer is more then eloquent: “thank you so much but I don’t see a better way to spend air miles then visiting you guys”.
