French "golden scissors" Alexandre Zouari, on a recent visit to Hong Kong, revealed how he turned his successful hairdressing business into a lucrative hair-accessories line.

"When I was young, I loved playing with the hair of my mother and sister; and I started hairdressing them. I loved to do their hairstyles for different occasions: picnics, horse riding, [the] beach or Christmas parties. They were excited to see how fast I created hairstyles so I was encouraged to do more and more. [When] my fingers go through women's hair, it reminds me of my childhood days."

"Having a good breakfast, chatting with friends, exploring art exhibitions and museums, watching movies and drama, walking through the parks. All of these inspire me."

"I have many royal families and celebrity clients who come to me for hairstyling for parties, red-carpet events and weddings, and they started to ask me to design hair accessories for every important event. They were all looking for a one-of-a-kind accessory to create a perfect look with their cocktail dresses and evening and wedding gowns."

"I have styled many world-famous women, like Queen Rania of Jordan and [French singer and] actress Line Renaud. For [Renaud's] show at the Casino de Paris, she came with her ringlets and I created a Pixie haircut - she loved it! Today, women prefer long or mid-length hair and they can use accessories to do their own styles easily, quickly and originally by themselves."

"In 2008, I signed a global contract with [luxury fashion retailer] Shiamas and they have opened more than 35 boutiques under my name in Hong Kong, [the mainland], Taiwan and Macau. I am fascinated by Chinese culture and its heritage of using hair accessories for over 1,000 years, which actually is kind of similar to historical French fashion culture."

"Being French is clearly an inspiration, with the great artists, creators and designers we have."