Ben Skervin
When you've styled Madonna, hung out with Lagerfeld and count Keira Knightley as one of your close friends and clients, you know you're a forced to be reckoned with in the fashion world.
So when we sit down to chat with celebrity hairstylist, Ben Skervin, we're a bit amused as he reveals he's lost his luggage on a flight over from New York. Don't these people know who he is?!
Luckily, he's very easy going about the whole thing and chats openly with us about his about his famous clientele, whose hairstyle he rates at the moment, and why he's dishing out advice to help men cope with going bald...
What have you been up to recently?
I flew in from New York, but unfortunately I'm still waiting for my luggage! FF: Oh no! Yes, it's annoying but I'm fine. Erm, and I've been doing a cover shoot for German Vogue recently as well, and shot a certain celebrity but can't tell you who, because we're keeping it quiet, but that is coming up quite soon. I've also been in LA, hanging out with one of my best friends, Cat Deeley, so I've been hanging out with her, which has been lovely because she has a gorgeous house and whenever I go out there to work, I always stay there too. Oh, and I've been doing little bits with Rachel Weisz too, she's adorable I love working with her. FF: All the Brits are great to work with aren't they, they have such great style. Yes, and Keira Knightley is one of my main clients as well, I've been working with her for a while now. FF: Are you the man responsible for that fab fringe? I am yes, and it works really well on her.
Our fabulous investigative Journalism skills tell us that it may be Heidi Klum, who you were working with on German Vogue, would we be on the right lines there?!
Well, maybe...yeah (laughs) FF: Ok, we'll let you off on that one!
What campaigns are you working on at the moment?
At the moment I'm just waiting for lots of stuff to come in, I've got holds on things but nothing concrete. This week I'm in London and I'm doing shoots for I-D and Italian Vogue, which I'm very much looking forward to because it will be great fun. FF: Any celebs for that? Well no, but the idea is actually four black girls on the cover, so that's going to be interesting, you know the whole black girl revival, which is going to be great.
You've worked with some amazing people in your career, who has been you favourite and least favourite?
Well, I don't really have a least, because I do something for them so they're always really nice to me! I've worked with Madonna a few years ago for a year and a bit, and that was amazing- she was really inspirational, but my favourite has to be Keira, because I've worked with her for so long and she's lovely, and for me as a young movie star, I think she harks back to the golden days of being timeless and always looks amazing, and she always takes my breath away every time I work with her.
You mentioned Madonna was a client in the past, have you been following her adoption bid in Malawi?
I actually have only just read a newspaper today and found out about her being declined adoption on a child, which is very sad. I think she's an amazing woman who is able to give a child something, and now she's being denied that opportunity. It's no different to anybody wanting to adopt a child, the reason you adopt is because there is a disadvantaged child and you're able to give them something that they wouldn't normally have, so anybody should be able to have that chance.
You worked with the Spice Girls in the past, was Victoria Beckham always such a trendsetter when it came to having her hair done?
Erm, yeah I think so, well she had that very straight bob when she was in the Spice Girls, but I think her fashion status has become more and more prominent, you know working with people like Marc Jacobs and the fashion industry has kind of taken her on board as a bit of a muse in some ways. I love Victoria, I think she's great and has a great sense of humour, and has done very well by taking something and making it into a lot more than what anyone could have imagined.
Which celebrities do you think have the best hairstyles at the moment, and who has the worst?
Erm, I'm really loving Scarlett Johansson with the dark hair, it really suits her and it's a big trend as well, blondes aren't the be all and end all anymore, and brunette's are now having more of a say in both fashion and beauty campaigns. We're seeing a lot more darker haired women around at the moment.
You've worked with the legend that is Karl Lagerfeld, is he really as scary as his persona suggests?!
He isn't but I was quite petrified when I first met him, he's like the emperor of fashion, you know he's worked with the most major houses- Fendi, Chanel and had his own label for many years as well, and people look to him as the sort of director of fashion, so getting to work with him was amazing; it's a highlight that I'd hope to repeat at some point.
What are the hot hair trends for the summer do your think?
For me what I saw emerging on the runway was going back to much more set looking hair, everyone is looking for a little bit of glamour, you know how can you take your two pennies and make it look like a million dollars basically. I think more set hair, waves and a bit more movie star glamour will be coming to the forefront.
Have you worked on any catwalk looks for Autumn/Winter 09, if so which ones?
Sadly not, because I was working with Head & Shoulders and concentrating a lot on that, so I've not been able to do any shows. We found out through our hair endurance campaign, well we did some research and surveys into what men think about their hair, which through up some quite surprising statistics. One in ten European men actually think more about hair falling out than they do about sex or football! It's funny because a lot of people don't believe it and it's actually true and that's a big trend as well, because men are finally caring about their hair. But in the UK, it shows how lazy men can be about their hair, but I think that's just through lack of knowledge about other options out there. Groomed hair is going to be a big trend, which is great because hopefully that will be something that men will latch on to.
What is your advice to men, who fear going bald more than anything else?
My top tips? Well a lot of men tend to grow their hair and it's not about growing it, I think a short hair cut either side and keep the top a little bit longer looks great. Men should also spend a little bit longer grooming their hair, use a bit of mousse or fixing solution and try blow drying their hair too.
Why are men so worried about their hair these days?
I think its because there are so few factors in fashion that men can hold onto, and women have shoes, handbags and hats, and their hair too as an accessory. For men, they sort of have the manbag and shoes, but it's more about a great suit, and their hair is like an accessory for them as well, and if they are losing it, that's going to play a big part in your image and how you look.
Ok Ben, thanks for speaking to me and have a nice day!
No problem, you too, bye!
FemaleFirst- Laura Terry