When you’re backstage at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, you’re very likely to run into Cutler Salon preparing models for the next runway show. Located in New York City with 3 locations and over 100 staff members, the salon caters to the fashion industry and high profile events. With over 10 years in the industry, Creative Director Dean Holcombe attributes the success of Cutler Salon to “staying on the pulse of the beauty and fashion world.”
In order to maintain the high caliber of service Cutler Salon is famous for and prepare their team to work for fashion designers in one of the most stressful situations possible, each new team member goes through a 3-tier training system. Training is the most important part of maintaining the Cutler brand standards, while fostering the individualistic talents of each team member.
It is this philosophy that has allowed Holcombe to navigate Cutler Salon into a Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week staple, providing backstage hair styling teams for over 50 fashion designers each season and featured regularly in top fashion magazines and on prime time airwaves for national TV shows and events. One Cutler Salon hair stylist even got a gig styling for Ann Romney and Paul Ryan during the Republican National Convention.
WATCH: How to Be a Hair Stylist at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week
In this excerpt from the “Runway Roadmap” webinar series, Dean shares how Cutler Salon prepares stylists to work backstage at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.
Dean offers three pieces of advice for stylists who want to have a successful career:
- Work hard, learning the foundations of your trade. There are always going to be people that are more naturally gifted than others. But if you work hard and build the foundations, you’ll learn how to break it down and become more artistic.
- Get out in the field. Work with as many good people as possible so you can learn the tricks of the trade. Learn a little bit of everything and develop your own personal style and be true to yourself.
- Communicate with your client. If you’re working with a designer at a fashion show, learn to handle the stress of a changing situation and alert your client when you detect something is wrong.
Cutler Salon’s “i am” Video Series
Cutler Salon created the “i am“, video series showcasing individuals embracing change to suit their lifestyle and celebrate their uniqueness. The video series showcases Cutler Salon’s craft and creativity while taking the viewer out of the traditional salon setting and into the world of everyday people who are ready to embrace a new look.
A great way for hair stylists to keep up with trends and improve their skills is to take advantage of the Cutler Salon YouTube channel where there are over 60 videos covering topics from hair styling inspiration to lead stylists sharing their methods.
