HAIR STORY
In the hands of a real artist everything turns into a flexible material from which you can create beautiful images. Anna An, a hair stylist from New York City, tells us how her admiration for the beauty of her hair has led her to a big dream.
LB: How did you start to collaborate with fashion brands?
AA: When I was invited to be head hairstyl- ist for Style.UZ Fashion Week in Tashkent, Central Asia. There I got a chance to work with some local designers, such a Nikolai Nam and Elena Mieberger with whom we are still working. We also worked with leading world brands and designers D&G, Chopard, Versace, Carolina Herrera. Yes, they had their own fantastic concepts, so you need to amaze them with your skills. The Japanese designers always thanked us for the good quality work, same as the Europeans designers, who never expected such a high level of professionalism that my team had. Italian Brands Dsquared2 had was probably the most demanding to work for, but they were also the ones who let us know how much they appreciated us, and thanked us profusely. It was at that point that I realized that I was ready for even bigger challenges, and that it is when I set my sights to New York, to conquer new horizons.
LB: Tell us a bit about your career.
AA: I was born in Uzbekistan, but when I was a child, my parents moved to Krasnodar, a wonderful city in the south of Russia. That’s where it all started. Like many 19 year olds en- tering the Kuban modeling school, I did not know what studies choose, but it turns out that a course for beauty stylists was the perfect fit for me. In it, we studied hair styling, nails, make-up and the basics of composition, but the biggest influence for me was an amazing master class taught by one of Moscow’s lead- ing hair stylists. Of the things I learned in it, one that really impressed me was that hair styling went far beyond the cutting clients’ bangs! The master class opened my eyes to the fact that, with pas- sion and creativity, you can do a real wonders with hair. After that epiphany, I could not stop on my journey to want to become an amazing hair stylist! Some time after my studies, I visit- ed the Inter Sharm exhibition in Moscow and realized that Moscow was the city for me and decided to move there right away.
I was amazed by how much this historic and cosmopolitan city had to offer. There I could experience advanced technologies, see the latest trends, and have access to all the new beauty products. It was the best place to be for my ambition, because it gave me access to the latest and greatest without having to wait years to get my hands on it! Soon I became a competitive master in my field, also represent- ing the Russian national hairdressing team. All the masters in our team first had to pass the regional selection, then the finals were held in Moscow or St. Petersburg. The national team was selected from the winners of those region- als who then had a chance to travel to Italy and France to partake in the international compe- titions. I am proud to say that I won ‘OMC Hairworld’ and the ‘Nevskie Berega’ competi- tions multiple times! After that I became a certified judge of the Russian Union of Hair Stylists and Estheti- cians. This was the ticket to becoming very highly sought after, and I was in demand in- stantly. As my career progressed, I opened my first salons with a business partner who was also the person that brought hair extension to Russia, and I was simply fascinated by the hair extensions’ ability to completely transform a person in just a few hours. Not surprisingly we were invited to work with Mosfilm movie studio where worked with some of the most famous singers and actors.
LB: So tell us about your move. Was it hard to be in NYC, or did you get proof that your talent was at the top while there?
AA: I came to New York with experience and absolute knowledge of the quality and profes- sionalism of the work I do. And you know, it’s obvious that in the professional world, everyone knows at minimum about the exis- tence of many techniques working with hair extensions, but it’s obvious that it’s hard to find someone who knows how to execute all the possible techniques available. In the US, cold extensions are almost impossible to get, but for me this is yet another technique I have mastered in my overall hair styling repertoire! Same with hair braids. I love to weave them, and in the US people really admire my talent in braiding their hair. I have clients from many different countries that come to me from Europe: Italy, France, Swit- zerland, Ireland. I myself travel everywhere, to style hair at weddings and photo shoots. One time I even got a recommendation and a creative producer from Cirque du Soleil came to me. He was so impressed by the work that he asked me to take care of the hair of all the actors from the Volta show he was producing. From this point of view I have to say that the US has given me some truly incredible op- portunities to work with big celebrities, large magazines and top brands.
LB: We saw a lot of botanical inspirations in your works. What things inspire you the most?
AA: I can take a long time to admire and an- alyze a rose and then find a way to make pet- als from someone’s hair. It not only about the texture, but the shape and different hues of colour.
LB: What advice would you give to someone who is just getting started in this profession?
AA: I would say that the recipe for success is simple: be a true professional, never stop growing, take part in new projects, love what you do and give all of yourself to it.
Photographer and Producer: Maria Frolova
Makeup Artist: Anzhela Dzhamalaeva
Hair stylist: Anna An
Model: Svetlana
Outfit: Nikolay Nam
Photographer: Sergey Danielyan
Make-up: Inna Kens
Hair Stylist: Anna An
Model: Mariana M
Top picture.
Producer: Pavel Kim
Makeup Artist: Eleanora Gazaryan
Hair stylist: Anna An
Model: Svetlana