Nicky Clarke - a cut above the rest

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"It works, and it is working. It's great. It's like all that work I've done for thirty-two years is starting to pay off. And I still cut hair every day!"
The single biggest reason why Nicky still cuts regularly is that he is fascinated by the diverse nature of his clientele.

"You really do get to meet everybody," he says. "Ok some people would say that's everybody who has four hundred quid in their pocket [the cost of a first-time cut by Nicky], but really, I do meet people from all walks of life, and I just love it. As much as I've done hundreds and hundreds of the celebrities, probably more than most, the biggest buzz from actual hairdressing actually comes from working on ordinary people. I like to work on the people whose husband, boyfriend, partner, kids, or whatever, have sent them in for a treat, or people who have decided to treat themselves.

"To those people it's really something. They look around and they can just see the standards we set. That's not the case everywhere: I saw a cut yesterday… I mean, I'm ashamed to say a British stylist did that! It was just appalling. It made me want to turn around and say that any of my junior people would have done it better.

"I use the analogy of the Saville Row suit. I have dozens of suits up in my wardrobe, but I really prefer the half-dozen or so that have been made for me. I have to pay more for those suits, but you really can tell the difference. The high price may be a bit annoying, but it's a bit like that with haircuts: you can just really see the difference.

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