Nicky Clarke - a cut above the rest

A quick test of your current affairs knowledge: can you name three celebrity hair stylists?

Hands up everyone who thought of Nicky Clarke and then struggled to come up with more… Most of you, eh? Not to worry, the same thing happened when we tried it in the editorial office.

Not since the swinging 60s, the era of Raymond "Mr Teasy-Weasy" Bessone and Vidal Sassoon, has there been a stylist to the famous who has become quite such an A-list celebrity in his own right. In Nicky Clarke's case the fame is well earned, and his ability at his art is in no doubt. It takes a rare talent to sweep both the British Hairdresser of the Year and London Hairdresser of the Year awards in the same year.

Nicky Clarke's career began in the most auspicious of environments. In the 1970s, at the age of 16, he went to work at the legendary Leonard's of Mayfair.
"I was advised - and rightly so, I still believe - not to go to college. Go to a good salon instead. Start at the bottom, sweeping the floor and polishing the brass. You know you can't go any lower, so you concentrate on aiming high."

His aim was obviously true. Nicky now owns salons in Mayfair, Manchester and Birmingham. He opened the Mayfair salon in 1991, at the urging of his business partner and former wife, Lesley. It was a great move; the business rapidly went from strength to strength, and the list of rich and famous clients just got longer and longer. Gwyneth Paltrow, Sophie Dahl, Yasmin le Bon, George Michael, David Bowie, Gary Kemp, Damon Hill, Nick Faldo, Gary Lineker, Denise van Outen and others have all visited Nicky. And then, of course, there are the royal clients… but space is limited, so we'll stop there for now.

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