THE JOURNAL
Mr Andrea Pirlo in New York, February 2016. Photograph by INF Photo
One of Fellow Barber’s hairdressing experts on the celebrities you want to look like and how to get their hairstyles.
Is there such a thing as “New York” hair? On reflection, probably not – the Big Apple is such a melting pot of various style influences that it’d be pretty hard to put a pomade-dipped finger on a particular look. We will, however, say this: New Yorkers are particularly well-groomed, a fact that we can only attribute to the presence of such excellent men’s hair emporiums as Fellow Barber – one of the many businesses that will be joining in with MR PORTER’s summer Block Party on Crosby Street today. When it launched in 2006 in downtown New York, Fellow Barber was at the forefront of a new movement of artisanal barbers, filling a gap between the pricy salon haircut and the – what we can only describe as – dodgy $10 hair amputations available at less reputable hairdressers. Now employing more than 100 people, with four barber shops in New York and two more in San Francisco, Fellow Barber has also launched a particularly excellent line of grooming products, which we are pleased to announce have just landed on MR PORTER. To celebrate that fact, we’ve picked three stylish New Yorkers whose hair we feel is worth replicating, and consulted Mr Mike Sposito, one of Fellow Barber’s senior cutters, to tell us how to do so:
FOR SHORTER HAIR
Mr Ryan Reynolds at the Deadpool premier in New York, February 2016. Photograph by Mr Mark Von Holden/Variety/Rex Shutterstock
MR RYAN REYNOLDS
“This is a great haircut for someone who’s active, because it’s easy to maintain. You kind of neaten it up and it doesn’t ever really look bad. The blend is very high, which means it merges right up to the occipital bone (at the lower back part of the head). Then it’s slightly shinier in front to really show off the texture.”
What to tell your barber
“Ask for a high and tight textured crop. Grade one and a half on the sides. Leave two to three inches on the top. Blend it high – no harsh lines.”
How to style it
“You don’t need a blow dryer. In this case, it looks like they've made it red-carpet worthy by keeping the volume of the fringe set, but depending on your hair type, you really only need to just work a dime-sized amount of pomade in and push it back. No comb lines, keep it pretty loose. If you're working product in, I would definitely work it from back to front, so you're not loading up all the product around your forehead.”
For mid-length hair
Mr Devendra Banhart in Los Angeles, June 2016. Photograph by Ms Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for Harriett Buhai Center for Family Law
MR DEVENDRA BANHART
“I’ve always called this style the ‘loose pompadour’. It has all the structure and the framework to be a perfectly sharp haircut, but it also looks really good when it's worn more relaxed. That’s why Mr James Dean always looked awesome, he had that sort of ‘race-car hair’. It always had just the perfect amount of fall and drop.”
What to tell your barber
“I’d ask for a pompadour but with length. Four to five inches at the front is the sweet spot in terms of getting that height, but get it gradually cut shorter towards the crown. The shorter hair behind helps to support the height at the front, otherwise the pomp will collapse.”
How to style it
“Brush the hair back and blow-dry until it’s almost completely dry. Alternatively, towel-dry the hair in a smoothing motion in the direction you want it to go. None of this frizzing – that creates static. Get the main body of the hair set then work some texture paste in, from crown to front, root to tip. Work a little bit more into the front and then form little loose strands, if you can, with your fingertips.”
For long hair
Mr Andrea Pirlo in New York, February 2016. Photograph by INF Photo
** MR ANDREA PIRLO**
“I would call this ‘The Pirlo’. I think that anybody who cuts hair and enjoys men’s style knows this haircut. It’s cut to be re-directed towards the back should he want to style it. That's how he gets those cool Mr Patrick Swayze sides, where the style has that surfer appeal. But then it scrubs up nicely, too – for when he’s drinking his red wine in the Italian countryside.”
What to tell your barber
“Cut it to around the collar. Three-and-a-half inches at the side, sloping down to a square layer at the back. Leave longer length in the front, so you can get a nice swoop back.”
How to style it
“Try our styling cream. It keeps a little bit of moisture in your hair and adds a little shine and light definition. Should you want a little bit more structure, work a little texture paste on top. A pomade would be too heavy and sticky on this.”