Kim Robinson, hair stylist to the rich and famous, explains why he’s a cut above
With clients such as the late Princess Diana and singer Rita Ora, the Australian-born celebrity hairdresser explains why he is qualified to inspire every Hong Kong woman
“I was 14 when I started training as a hairdresser at the Australian Institute of Technology. I was also working part time after school and on Saturdays at a hair salon. My responsibilities included cleaning up the space, organising the towels and so on. I loved the atmosphere.
My boss eventually offered me a job, but my father told me that I couldn’t take it. He told me it was not something that men should do. In that era, jobs such as window dresser, fortune teller and airline steward were frowned upon. As was being gay. All of dad’s friends used to tease him for having a son who was a hairdresser. But when I won the apprentice of the year award for hairdressing, he shut up. Now he’s the proudest dad I know.
At the beginning, I wasn’t entirely sure if hairdressing was right for me. I just liked being there. It was fun and cool, the people were friendly and I enjoyed it more than being in school. Studying at the Institute of Technology was difficult, and working with Alexandre de Paris, and later with Vidal Sassoon, was very tough and technical. Nothing was ever good enough, and everything was very stiff.
I didn’t discover the love until this one day in Paris. I was working at Alexandre’s salon when I saw Grace Kelly. She just floated past me after Alexandre had done her hair, and I was completely gobsmacked. Something inside me was triggered that day because she looked so gorgeous. And that was the starting point for my book, Go Get Gorgeous.
