The Open Eye with Robert Masciave, UK

If anyone has the key to the door of their salon it’s Robert Masciave. Celebrating 21 years as founder of Metropolis Hairdressing and Inventor of Eblade Hairdressing Tools, the salon is a true destination for some 3,000 clients. It is his love and passion for the avantgarde however that has put has earned him international acclaim.

Outside of the salon I have always used hair as a form of expression that in turn makes sense of what I do with hair. Over the course of the next few months, I will be speaking with likeminded people and asking them to share their experiences. I am curious to see what their point of view is, what they have learned from it – did it notice the way that they see things? Does it make them think outside the box? Does it increase your problem-solving skills? Does it make you more creative? I know what it did for me, I know what it does to me, I know the benefit I just want to find out if it is the same for everyone.

Hair Biz are proud to be the host of Roberts’ journey as he interviews fellow connoisseurs of the avantgarde in a series of features.

Robert’s curiosity and creativity found an outlet as he began to explore more experimental ways to interpret the ever-wilder hair visions he was imagining. ‘I started doing the hair for club nights,’ explains Robert. ‘The clothes were weird and outrageous, but the hair didn’t reflect that.’ Before long, he was catching the eye of photographers who wanted to collaborate with someone who wasn’t afraid to push boundaries. says himself it was a way of challenging himself. He also wanted to gauge the emotional reaction of the public and perhaps unlock a deeper significance in what he was doing.

Arguably, it was here that a love of Avant-Garde, which would become his trademark style, was born. When reflecting on what it is that makes this style so appealing, Robert says, ‘AvantGarde is a form of expression to me. I view hair as a material, and it has limitless possibilities.’ In Robert’s eyes, hairdressing has two aspects, which mirror fashion in many ways – haute couture and ready to wear. It’s his commitment to learning the fundamentals that has allowed him throughout his career to take the risks that have made him stand out above so many of his peers.

‘It’s all very well having ideas, but without technique you’ll never be able to express them,’ Robert justifiably says. As well as gathering all the skills he needed to shine, another shrewd move was embracing technology and becoming one of the first hairdressers to have an online presence. ‘Truth is, I’ve always been an innovator and I believe that creativity and technology should be in tune with each other,’ Robert confides. ‘But I was also worried about losing all my images, and I wanted a place where they would exist forever.’ as a form of expression. I was creating looks and realised that when I was doing them, they challenged me, so I would invent techniques and I practice again and again to the point where it all became quite simple. The joy for me was I was creating problems and overcoming them with a technique that I was personally inventing. I was thinking outside the box, I was problem solving. It soon became an integral part of my creativity, and I became better at it. It is like a muscle, the more you exercise it the stronger you become. Like life you have a challenge, you find a solution.

I started creating avantgarde non-stop in every spare moment, and I had to ask myself why I was doing it. I was also criticised heavily and although I don’t applaud or even like Lady Gaga – she did me the power of good in making avantgarde cool. Alexander McQueen was introducing avantgarde to the runway and I could see a need for the industry to evolve in this arena in order to reshape our future. If you are in business, it has become vital for us all to start thinking outside of the box.

Some people think that the only way to be creative is to do avantgarde work. Avantgarde is one of the most challenging creative exercises as it finds you in unchartered territory, something that has never been done before, creating techniques never used before, so your chance of failing is very high, that in itself is a great motivator as the discovery is great. There is such a hidden happiness when everything aligns which brings a beautiful balance to your work and your life. And this is why I love avantgarde – it helps me to keep a sense of balance and signifies what is important.

THE MINOTAUR

I went to see a Picasso exhibition and he had drawings of bulls, minotaur’s that I couldn’t’ get out of my head. My friend Natacha Marro, shoe designer to the stars, commissioned me to do a shoot with them – they wanted the shoot to just be hair and shoes. It couldn’t look sexy so I met the brief with this – inspired by Picasso.

SEMPER EADEM

This look explores the enigmatic effect of layering cultures upon cultures to a point where we are unable to distinguish where they come from and what they stand for. The hair has a tribal feel using wings, feathers, etc. The idea was to merge the hair with wings to create pieces looking as if they naturally grew on the model (in a similar way that horns grow on animals.)

I wanted to create looks using taxidermy (full wings) as I knew they were challenging to manipulate. This look is made of 6 crows wings. The real challenge was to create a symmetrical look out of wings which are organic and always unique. The clothes are super important to complete the character of the look and had to be Elizabethan – I couldn’t find the right gloves for the model to wear so I made them.

LES ECORCHES

‘Les Ecorches’ was born from asking myself a question, “If I had a tribe, what would they do and, most importantly, what would they wear?” My imagined tribe is unified in look and behaviour yet comprised of unique characters, exotic yet authentic, violent, and beautiful. The white painted scalp simulates the ‘ecorches’ effect whilst their white facial brand marks each as an elegant warrior of my strange, savage tribe.

RANGO

I love the animation movie ‘RANGO’, I was so inspired by a character in the movie. Although this head piece looks light. It is very heavy due to the structure. The lightness is due to the feathered hair making it very effective on stage when the model walks and the hair moves around.

THE DOVE

This look is part of the SEMPER EADEM collection I wanted to recreate the effect when birds open their wings before attacking. The expansion of the wings is fascinating.

THE NIGHT QUEEN

This look was commissioned by Revlon Professional for one of their international showcases. The task was to create a beautiful, yet powerful look inspired by the terrifying character in The Game of Thrones, THE NIGHT KING. A little secret: the Night Queen was my technical prototype for another look I had in mind which was going to be my biggest challenge to date... My hair outfit “THE SOUL OF MAN.”

THE SOUL OF MAN

The Soul of Man was made specially to raise money for Leukemia Research at the Alternative Hair show. The influence of the design is a cross between Elizabethan clothes and the coat of an animal to emulate the bridge between humans and animals – The beauty and the beast…. The inspiration for this show came from the title of an Oscar Wilde essay, ‘The Soul of Man.’

ROBERTS KIT

My personal kit has evolved over the years – it started with visits to the hairdressing shops however its now extended to visits to B&Q!

Chicken wire, wire cutters, spray mount, a 50 degree free spray to freeze the glue, glue gun, resin, varnish, foam, plumbing equipment and several bits originally intended for garden use. Then there is Worbla – a thermal plastic material from which I’ve even made a dress. I also discovered millinery and bought several tools of the milliners and then there was sculpting and the sculptors – the list is endless I’m always continuously evolving my tools.

“Avantgarde is a huge journey – and for me the journey and the challenges you meet along the way are the most exciting part,” says Robert. “Join me over the next few issues as I talk to some of the leading artists in the world.”