Meet The Master Behind Gisele Bündchen's Hair

Photos Courtesy of Getty Images

Fashion week beauty chatter typically revolves around the hair on the runway—from Marc by Marc Jacobs’s Bjork-inspired top knots in the shape of a Mohawk, to the super slicked back pony tails at Alexander Wang. But what about all of those gorgeous locks in the front row? Meet Harry Josh, the man behind the tresses of all the major show-goers during New York Fashion Week. Based out of the Serge Normant at John Frieda salon, he has been cutting, coloring and doing messy blow outs for clients like Gisele Bundchen, Taylor Schilling, Alexa Chung, and Rose Byrne all this week. “It’s so nice to do one or two people who look stellar, as opposed to me sweating backstage at a show doing thirty models and having the chaos of it all,” says Josh. Yahoo Style caught up with the hairstylist, back in Manhattan after summer vacation in Vancouver, Canada where he’s from, to talk fashion week schedules, hair trends and who he thinks is “the new Gwyneth Paltrow.”

So walk us through a typical day during NYFW.
This morning I worked with Alexa [Chung] who was going to the Tommy Hilfiger show, and I have a meeting this afternoon [with a client I can’t name] to discuss hair we’re doing tomorrow. I have to see what the outfit is. Then I have personal appointments, like a facial—stuff I actually need to get done too! And later this week I’m going on HSN to sell my luxury tool line, we just launched brushes. So it’s a lot going on in every direction, but I think that’s what’s great about coming back in September. You’ve had a break and you’re ready to go.

What kind of style are your clients asking for?
Everyone just wants to look cool and undone, but undone done well. No one’s looking for a red carpet ’do. Everyone’s just like, ‘Make me look like I didn’t try but I have good hair anyway.’ That’s been the directive this week.

What do you use to get that look?
It’s all about using the right tools: a good powerful dryer and a good volumizer. I love the Serge Normant Meta Sheer Dry Oil Finishing Spray because it gives that lived-in look. No matter how clean and healthy the hair is, by spraying it in there, it looks almost as if you blew the hair out, slept on it and woke up the next morning. I think that’s been a key look because a lot of the editors don’t get their hair done everyday, and I think celebrities just want to fit in with that front row.

And what about color?
We’re seeing a return to softer shades, more solids. I think we’re going to start to slowly phase out the extreme ombre, with the light ends and dark roots. There will always be a place for it, but for fall we’re going to see something subtler.

And length?
That long, ropey, curling iron look with extensions is finished. The new long—for all the die-hard girls who will never cut their hair, the Giseles, the Victoria’s Secret girls—is just below the collar bone. All those girls that have mid-length hair—Taylor, Rose—they’re going to above the shoulder. Which is great for winter stuff like turtleneck and collars. We’re seeing all versions of it, whether choppy or blunt.

You’ve been working with Taylor since Orange is the New Black debuted and just did her short bob for Thakoon. How have you seen her style evolve since the show’s been getting more attention?
To me, she’s the budding new Gwyneth. She likes everything very minimal, simple and clean. Never outrageous or outlandish. She doesn’t like tons of crazy hair and makeup. She’s just kind of rolling with it and keeping it young and chic, which I love.

And you’ve been working with Gisele for more than 15 years, is that right?
Gisele’s my friend, first and foremost. We met in London when I was working in production and was casting a Richard Tyler show. I don’t think I would have been a hairdresser had it not been for her. She was always pushing me, saying, ‘You have to do this, everyone loves my hair color.’ Her hair color was really what catapulted me into the spotlight.

So will you go to any shows this week just for fun?
I’m invited to everything, but I go to nothing. I like seeing the shows online in the privacy of my own house. I get inspired by seeing what all of these creative geniuses come up with. Then I think about how I can translate it into something that will work for my clients.

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Courtesy of Getty Images

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Courtesy of Getty Images