ALEXANDRE Raimon - or Alexandre de Paris as he is known - looks more like a shipping tycoon than someone who wields a pair of scissors for a living. Dressed in a finely tailored suit and silk cravat, the dapper Frenchman is perhaps one of the world's best known hairdressers.
And at 70, the St Tropez-born stylist is still sought after by his clients at his plush salon in Avenue Matignon in Paris.
He is the man credited for giving French actress Catherine Deneuve her new short and sexy style.
''Coloured noisette with blonde streaks, like a spotlight. It suits her perfectly,'' he said.
Raimon made a name as hairdresser to the rich and famous, and over the years his reputation has been unaffected by new, super-trendy hairstylists on the scene.
Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren, Liza Minnelli and Raquel Welch all drop in to see him when they are in Paris, while members of royalty like Queen Sirikit, of Thailand, call on him for special occasions. The late Princess Grace, of Monaco, was one of his favourite clients, and her daughter Caroline continues to sport Raimon's styles.