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David Mallet. The Celebrity's Best-Kept Secret

Paris, December 2008 - When the Italian tire manufacturer Pirelli wanted the best coiffeur in Paris to style their 2009 calendar, they called an Australian. When Sharon Stone needed a stylist to tend her locks for a recent Elle magazine shoot in France, and when Liv Tyler flew into Paris for a recent film premiere, they both called an Australian. And when French stars Eva Green, Alice Taglioni and Laetitia Casta want their hair styled by the best – or when
French fashion houses L’Oréal, Dior and Chanel need cutting-edge hair styling for their international ad campaigns – they turn to an Australian.

They all insist on the same Australian in Paris: stylist to the stars, David Mallett.
For more than fifteen years now, Mallett has been a hairdressing force to be reckoned with in the rareified world of international fashion. His deft touch and creative handiwork have contributed to some of the most iconic images in fashion advertising in the past two decades.

This year alone, he was whisked to Botswana to head the creative team styling the worldrenowned Pirelli calendar. He was flown to San Sebastian by Demi Moore to provide hair styling services during the film festival, and chosen by Karl Lagerfeld to style Christy Turlington in a recent Chanel campaign.

The list of celebrity clients and high-fashion ad campaigns on which Mallett has worked is impressively long: Julianne Moore for YSL, Isabelle Adjani for Lancel, Penélope Cruz and Laetita Casta for L’Oréal.

But while the celebrity clients and cutting-edge ad campaigns help keep Mallett’s scissors attuned to the latest trends in the world of high-fashion, it is the creation of Paris’ premier, first-class hair salon that is his real passion. Since its establishment three years ago, the David Mallett salon in Paris’ fashionable 2nd arrondissement has set a new standard for hair styling establishments in the city.

A stylish interior, spacious garden terrace, eclectically furnished rooms – and even a lifesized, stuffed ostrich - greet visitors to the salon. Leading a team who are committed to ensuring every client feels like a VIP, Mallett transfers
the skills he has honed in the world of high-fashion to every client that enters his salon.

“From the moment they walk in the door, to the moment they leave, I want my clients to feel like they are the most important person in the world,” says Mallett. “Having your hair styled is an incredibly intimate experience. I take very seriously the trust that people place in my hands.”

It’s a philosophy that has seen the David Mallet salon singlehandedly bring a dash of oldworld service and attention-to-detail to a Paris hairdressing scene increasingly dominated by chain salons.

“Stepping into my salon is supposed to be like stepping back to a more elegant, refined age,” explains Mallett. “An age when women took time over their appearance, when they collaborated with their stylist to create a look that is at once fashionable and individual.”

Add to this mix a service that is as discreet as it is pleasurable, and you have a salon that is booked out months in advance. In fact, so popular has the David Mallett salon experience become, the stylist has been forced to recruit a sizeable team of hairdressing professionals to keep pace with demand. From stylists Alain Haberlay and Barbara to two of Paris’ most sought-after colourists, Giorgio Carpentier and Rémy Faure, to the sublime manicures performed by Laurence – the David Mallett salon experience is a holistic one.
It’s a winning combination that keeps a steady stream of A-list clientele coming back for more – including Diane Kruger, Andie MacDowell, Jarvis Cocker, Anna Mouglalis and Liam Neeson.

“We have two guiding principle here at the salon,” explains Mallett. “To make each client leave feeling infinitely more glamorous than when they walked in, and to always strive to be a cut above. Pardon the pun.”

 

website: www.david-mallett.com