“I hate mood boards,” says Olivier Schawalder. “I don’t need them, because everything is in my head.” For this story, the Paris-based hairstylist mentally assembled editorial, advertising, and film images from the 1960s and early ’70s (think Charlotte Rampling and Marisa Berenson), along with some drop-dead-chic Yves Saint Laurent perfume ads from the early ’80s. Not every muse was human—one of the looks was inspired by the iconic sweep of hair on Elnett hairspray cans. “My work usually contains a lot of graphic shapes and bold color,” says Schawalder. “Everything is always straight, perfect, and triangular. Here, I wanted to get away from that and explore styles that are more wearable but still have my touch.”
Chalk it up to his Swiss upbringing, or the fact that he spent several years in Japan before settling back in Europe, but Schawalder’s “touch” is unswervingly polished and precise, with each hair placed as if his life depends on it. “I’m a true Virgo perfectionist,” he admits. “I like to think everything I do has a certain finesse, even when the direction is more grunge or punk.” Not that he gets too attached to a specific style: “You may start with something, but when you see it on set, you realize you can make it better by adjusting a tiny little detail, and that changes everything.”
Hot rollers recently eclipsed the crimping iron as his favorite tool, and he used them to dramatic effect in these pages. “Not so many people use rollers, as they’re big and heavy to carry around,” he says. “But you put them in, send the model to makeup and styling, and then, when they’ve been in for 40 minutes or so and the hair is fully cold, you take them out, brush the hair, and end up with something very different—you get a feeling and a texture you never have with other tools.”
A self-described “late bloomer” in the industry, Schawalder began his career in the early aughts coiffing clients in a high-end salon in Lausanne, Switzerland, an experience he credits with influencing how he approaches his session work with brands like Mugler and Viktor & Rolf. “You learn how to put those rollers in, you learn how to behave, what to say, what not to say, how to make people like you. It’s all a big plus for when you’re in fashion.” Just don’t ask him to make a mood board.
Hair by Olivier Schawalder at Art+Commerce; makeup by Marie Duhart for Clarins at Bryant Artists; manicures by Alex Feller for Manucurist at Artlist Paris. Models: Annemary Aderibigbe and Diane Chiu at Premium Models; Freya Nutter at Supreme Management. Casting by Piergiorgio Del Moro and Samuel Ellis Scheinman at DM Casting. Set design by Sati Leonne at Bryant Artists.
Produced by Town Productions; Head of Production: Silvia Nicoletti; Photography assistants: Daniel Rodriguez Serrato, Hermine Werner; Digital Technician: Philippe Billemont; Postproduction: INK; Fashion assistants: Silke Holzschuher, Shana Luqué; Production assistants: Alexandre Blondeau, Minami Shishido, Sarah Bailly; Hair assistants: Damien Lacoussade, Bastien Zorzetto; Makeup assistant: Natsuki Oneyama; Set assistant: Gilles Jacot.
