Life of Guy

Hailing from France, Guy Kremer has become one of the most notable names in the UK hair scene. With a career steeped in glamour and luxury, his story is one of rich rewards and notable successes.

Guy Kremer is a name that has become synonymous with opulence and grandeur. His brand of hairdressing is elegant and glamorous, his long-established Winchester salon smart and exclusive. He makes no apologies for loving life’s luxuries. Whether that’s art or lavish food or fancy cars, Guy Kremer is a man who was always destined to live the high life.

Despite that, Guy’s early years in the small French town of Talange on the borders of Germany and Luxembourg, were not quite so sophisticated. Perhaps one of the only tastes of the well-to-do lifestyle that awaited was a regular trip to the hair salon with his mother. As was customary at the time, she would travel every week without fail to have her hair doused in lotion and set in its perfectly coiffed style. “I fell in love with hair way back then,” Guy recalls, “As a young boy I can remember sweeping up hair and playing with the shampoo bottles. I really enjoyed being in the hair salon.”

I’M TOTALLY INVOLVED IN EVERY ASPECT OF THE SALON AND CONTINUALLY INVEST TO KEEP STANDARDS HIGH

Guy showed promise at art in school, but creative pursuits aside, he couldn’t wait to leave. Instead, he decided to follow his hairdressing dreams and took an apprenticeship at the age of 14. Just a few years later, when he was 18 years old, Guy’s father sadly died. Worried that his modest hairdressing income wasn’t enough to support a prosperous future, his mother encouraged Guy to train in accountancy. He lasted three years, but the hairdressing bug had bitten and Guy couldn’t shake the attraction back to the craft that had first captivated him.

In a twist of good fortune, Guy set his sights on the UK. “I was really into music in my late teens and most of the artists I was listening to were singing in English,” Guy remembers. Already speaking French and German, English was a language that alluded him and he decided that immersing himself in the country was the best way to learn those lyrics. Armed with a suitcase and some rudimentary hairdressing skills, Guy stepped off the plane from France in 1974 and straight into a role that would shape his destiny.

I WAS FROM THIS ORDINARY FAMILY IN FRANCE AND SUDDENLY I WAS A HAIRDRESSER TO ALL THESE VIPS.

Hans of Vienna was a private hair salon owned by Lady Forwood – wife of Sir Dudley Forwood, former equerry to the Duke of Windsor. Describing the couple as “wonderful, colourful characters”, Guy - this fledgling hairdresser from a small town in France – was suddenly thrust into a world of aristocracy and mingling with the UK’s high society. Clientele included passengers stepping onboard the QE2 from Southampton and even royalty. Guy recalls his wellconnected bosses taking tea with the late Queen Mother, while fixing priceless tiaras into perfectly styled dos was all just part of the job.

“It was a fascinating experience,” Guy enthuses. “The salon was on the first floor above Russell & Bromley in Winchester and you had to ring a doorbell to get in. I was from this ordinary family in France and suddenly I was a hairdresser to all these VIPs.” While loving his new lifestyle, Guy’s mother was in poor health and he flew home to France every Saturday to see her until her death less than one year after arriving in the UK. This commitment and loyalty to his ailing mother are character traits which still define Guy today.

The heady days at Hans of Vienna were action-packed but short-lived, and after two years, when the salon closed, Guy set up the first of his salons – French Connection – employing a small team of three. Determined to make a name for himself Guy started dabbling with photography. Inspired by the elegant work of ‘chignon king’ and fellow Frenchman Alexandre de Paris, Guy soon cultivated a chic, signature style. He began sending off photo collections to the hair press and struck up an enduring friendship with the Editor of Hairdressers Journal at the time, Moira Paulusz. Brutally honest in her feedback, Moira would fire back with comments such as, “Bad make-up, terrible lighting but hair is fab. Carry on!”

Upping his game, Guy finally arranged a professional photoshoot and his investment paid off. The collection was beautiful and was published alongside the likes of Trevor Sorbie, John Frieda and Daniel Galvin. Guy had made it and his new, larger salon, now named Guy Kremer was taking off too. Before long he’d been spotted by producers of a new TV show, Style Challenge. As part of a team of stylists such as Hilary Alexander, Ruby Hammer and Barbara Daly, Guy became a regular on this BBC daytime TV show devoted to making over members of the public.

This new-found notoriety catapulted Guy to the top of his game and secured his name as one of the most respected in the hair industry. Fresh from his stint on Style Challenge, Guy’s hair talents regularly featured in The Times, Telegraph and Express and today he maintains a regular slot styling the celebrity covers of Fabulous magazine. No doubt, television opened a lot of doors for him. It wasn’t just a TV reputation that was lifting off either. 1998 – over 30 years ago – saw Guy win the first of many awards when he scooped Southern Hairdresser of the Year. He won the same award three years in row, inducting him into the British Hairdressing Awards Hall of Fame.

“IF YOU CAN MEET WITH TRIUMPH AND DISASTER, AND TREAT THOSE TWO IMPOSTORS JUST THE SAME”

The title of Men’s Hairdresser of the Year followed. He also had a prolific run at the L’Oréal Colour Trophy and an impressive clutch of creative, business and international awards too. Guy is pragmatic about the fact that while nominated for British Hairdresser of the Year, this was to be a title that escaped him. He refers to the Rudyard Kipling quote, “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster, and treat those two impostors just the same,” as the way he handles disappointment in life.

In any case, a greater honour - Fellowship Hairdresser of the Year - was in store, a title he won twice – the second time 17 years later. Valuing the acknowledgment from his peers, this award was proof of both his talent and enduring popularity.

Today, his self-titled salon in Parchment Street is one of Winchester’s biggest success stories. While others have come and gone, Guy puts his salon’s success down to an unwavering commitment to customer care. “I’m totally involved in every aspect of the salon and continually invest to keep standards high,” he says. Never shy of spending money where it’s needed, Guy admits to routinely refurbishing the salon to keep its sense of luxury. His loyal customers are made to feel welcomed and special – perhaps a lesson learnt from those early days of five-star service.

Guy’s raft of well-heeled customers from Hampshire and the surrounding areas are a top priority for him and Guy also boasts a close circle of celebrity devotees. As well as a commitment to his clients, he treats his close-knit team like family; a virtue that has backfired in the past. “I’d say that the hardest part of running a salon is putting your trust into people and misjudging it,” he laments. “I’ve been disappointed by staff members and it hurts.” He describes the recent death of his longstanding PA and most trusted friend, Margery as heart-breaking. By his side in business for 38 years, she started out as a client before taking on the role as bookkeeper, receptionist and later PA. “she was my unseen hero,” Guy reflects sadly.

Other abiding and loyal names in his professional life are JC Aucamp and Jonny Engstrom. JC now runs the successful Guy Kremer franchise salon in Lymington, while Jonny has been in Guy’s inner sanctum since 1997 and heads up the Winchester salon as Director and Art Director. Other top names in the hair world cite Guy as their influence and little wonder he was named by USA’s leading trade magazine, Modern Salon, as one of the Top 75 Global Educators of the Century. Famed for his skill at dressing long hair, he’s even written a book about it – a talent immortalised in print.

At 68 years old, Guy shows no signs of giving up on his beloved hair career. But there are glimpses of what a life might look like beyond it. He retreats to his second home in Cordes-sur-Ciel whenever he can. From his balcony overlooking the picturesque 14th Century village below, he paints. “I’m influenced mainly by the artists Chagall, Dali and Gaugin.” It’s also a place where he indulges his passions for cooking, swimming and gardening. Pruning the roses or creating a feast for friends are how he zones out of the bustling days he leads at the salon.

Despite branching out with the franchise salon in Lymington, Guy maintains he never set his sights on a vast chain of salons. Instead he’s pleased and proud of the thriving business he’s built in Winchester. 45 years since first arriving in the UK, Guy may have French roots, but is as much a part of the British hair scene as any of the other names that have made it to the top echelons. And yes, while the taste for opulence and luxury and the abundant successes of his dazzling career are plain to see, it’s clear that above all, Guy Kremer is a devoted and humble hairdresser at heart. Pleasing his clients and bringing out the best in them, he admits, offers the greatest riches of all.