Curl up and dye: Meet Adelaide’s hairdressers to the rich and famous
Next time you take your place in the salon you could be sitting in a seat just vacated by a celebrity. Meet Adelaide’s hairdressers to the stars and their big name clients.
Lifestyle
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Back in the day Adelaide was home to hairdressers, who not only cut and coloured the hair of the beautiful people but were celebrities in their own right. Who can forget Arturo “He knows what I want” Taverna, Feres Trabilsie and Joseph. While they have gone to the big salon in the sky, there are still a number of ‘hairdressers to the stars’ around town, including the team at Boris the Cuttery.
Established by Damien Rinaldo – who is the son of Hair Machine founder Vince Rinaldo – the Norwood salon is especially popular with Adelaide A-listers.
Boris is the go-to for super WAG Belinda Sloane, stylist Jamie Reilly, Out in the Paddock’s Ally Aoukar and fashion designer Stephanie Chehade. International model Madison Stubbington, who was born in Adelaide, fashionista Elle Ferguson and DJ Havana Brown are also clients – when they’re in town.
As The Advertiser starts its search for SA’s best hairdresser – as voted by you – let’s meet some other big names who tend to the tresses of the rich and famous.
SJ ESTABLISHMENT
Sam James has done dos for Aussies making a name for themselves in Hollywood – Orange is the New Black’s Ruby Rose and SA-born Samara Weaving – plus Adelaide’s Shanelle Franklin and Tamara Linke of Motherhood A Beautiful Nightmare fame.
Sam’s salon on Prospect Rd, which has been in business for four years, is a go-to for career women/busy mums “taking time out for themselves”, as well as clients who Sam calls “blonde and weft extensions enthusiasts”.
SJ Establishment specialities include “balayage, foilyage, classic and bold colour transformations” and Sam has a number of industry accolades under her hairdressing belt, including a global gong. She finished second runner-up in the Best Avant-Garde category at the Association Internationale Presse Professionnelle Coiffure awards, which is the “Golden Globes of hairdressing”.
Named the top hairdresser in SA/Tasmania no less than five times, Sam and her team have a tonne of awards; they even celebrated back-to-back wins of the Salon Business of the Year trophy in the prestigious Australian Hair Industry Association national comp.
Asked who she would love to see in her salon, Sam picks two of the hottest celebs on the planet: “Margot Robbie for an eccentric up-do and Miley Cyrus for an edgy chop!”
HAIR MACHINE
Founded by Vince Rinaldo in 1976, Hair Machine – which has salons at Glenelg and North Adelaide – is one of Adelaide’s hairdressing institutions.
“Honestly, our clientele is amazingly diverse, we love this,” Hair Machine franchise director Fiona Fazzalari says, adding the business is known for its creativity – “copper hair colour, ‘Teddy Bear’ blondes and big wavy blowouts” and “the most discrete individual stranded hair extensions”.
Asked to name names of stars who frequent Hair Machine, Fiona simply says “all our clients are famous and celebrities”. That said, The Advertiser can reveal stylist and fashion designer Lucy MacGill – who is one of Adelaide’s best dressed women – is among them.
And as for who Hair Machine would love to look after, it has got to be model Eden Polani because she has “amazing hair!”.
BELISSIMO HAIR
Best known for singing the Fifty Shades of Grey theme song Love Me Like You Do, Ellie Goulding’s other claim to fame is that she has had her do done at Belissimo Hair.
The business, which opened in Norwood in 1987 but is now located at Henley Beach, is the place to go for a beautiful, no, make that belissimo blow-dry.
That said, its owners, sisters Lucy Iasenzaniro and Ada Cavaioulo, are also known and loved for their individual areas of expertise.
“I would say we both have our own strengths,” says Lucy, adding: “Mine in effortless, wearable, modern haircuts and Ada in blondes.”
Celebrity clients, besides Goulding, include model Jessica Gomes and ballerina Darcey Bussell.
Lucy, who has been hair director for fashion festivals in Adelaide and Melbourne, says her most rewarding role outside of the business has been with global brand Kevin Murphy where she is the national educator/style master.
“I have always been really passionate about giving back and supporting the youth of our industry,” Lucy says. “Sharing knowledge is powerful and I learn just as much from them as they do from me.”
And as for Lucy’s dream celebrity client: “Hailey Bieber, Lara Worthington or Christina Centenera,” she says. “They all have the same vibe and I just love their style and their effortless vibe.”
MJ HAIR
The MJ in MJ Hair – which has salons at Norwood and Morphettville – stands for Mat Johnson, but he is by no means a one-man operation.
“I have a business partner with MJ Morphettville, Bec Bowers,” Mat says, adding: “I actually was Bec’s junior 20 years ago and now ‘hair we are’ in business together all these years later.”
Mat says clients range from “trendsetting young fashionistas to our esteemed legacy clients, many of whom have been with us for over two decades” and that “breathtaking hairstyles” – such as Hollywood waves for brides and rainbow colours – are MJ Hair’s signature services.
DJ Tigerlily, also known as “Dara” is among Mat’s celebrity clients. “For the past seven years, I have had the honour of creating Dara’s numerous iconic looks that have left an indelible mark on the industry,” Mat says, adding: “Notably, I had the opportunity to craft her distinctive turquoise hair, a style that has become synonymous with her image.”
Other famous faces include another DJ: “I had the pleasure of styling Eliza Rose for her Adelaide tour, designing a magnificent hairpiece that now accompanies her on stages worldwide.”
Mat has also made a name for himself on the international scene; he’s received a knighthood from Intercoiffure in Switzerland in recognition of his contributions to the hairdressing industry and is a global artist for Matrix and L’Oreal.
“In 2019, I had the extraordinary experience of setting a Guinness World Record in China for orchestrating the ‘most amount of people simultaneously cutting hair’,” he says.
KINKY CURLY STRAIGHT
How many awards has Uros Mikic won since he and wife Mojca Bizjak-Mikic set up shop on Magill Rd 10 years ago?
The answer is pretty much “how long is a piece of string?” – not that you’ll find any stringy hair in Kinky Curly Straight, where “Uros is the creative guru and Mojca looks after the business running of the salon”.
As well the numerous gongs Uros has received for styling – including Australasian and global awards for men’s hairdressing – the salon, which has a strong male following, is also a winner.
“It was renovated in 2019, creating another unique design and took out Hair Expo Salon Design of the Year, after initially wining the Australian Hair Fashion Awards (AHFA) Salon Design award back in 2013,” Uros and Mojca say.
”We have many awards to our name and we hold these achievements dear to us, as they represent the combined efforts of creativity and business acumen.”
Using Revlon products, Uros was in charge of the hairstyles for St. Agni’s 2023 Australian Fashion Week show, where models had – you guessed it – kinky, curly and straight tresses.
But back to his and Mojca’s salon: which is particularly famous for its expertise with natural curls and colour work.
“We always look to work with clients’ individual curly styles, seeing how tricky it is to achieve great curly looks,” Uros says, adding: “When it comes to colour, we are known for our beautiful blonde work; be it balayage, highlights, gold or platinum blonde, our team excels at creating bespoke blondes to suit every client.”
Clientele are generally professionals in their 30s and older, who want “high-end, elegant hairstyles”. Some of Adelaide’s biggest movers and shakers and elite athletes are among them.
While Uros isn’t naming names, he is happy to share his celebrity wishlist:
“Hugh Jackman, whose hair is always on point and very much represents the looks we deliver in the salon,” he says, adding: “Michelle Williams, for her signature pixie cuts, trendy hairstyles and the most perfect blonde colour.”
ORBE
Another Adelaide hairdressing business that needs no introduction, Orbe – which has salons at Norwood and North Adelaide – is 29 years young. Founders Ida Tirimacco and Joe Cimmino say Orbe has an eclectic clientele: “Everyone is welcome! From corporate executives, busy mums and dads, the fashion forward, musicians, politicians, artists and everyone in between”.
And there’s also a lot of famous faces who have had the star treatment, including Prinnie Stevens, Dave Gleeson, Christine Anu and Ruby Rose.
“Over the years we have had the opportunity to be part of many high profile
events including Australian Fashion Week, London Fashion Week, The
Voice Australia and the Adelaide Cabaret Festival,” they say, adding: “We take pride in the premium, welcoming atmosphere our clients experience. Orbe is a place where, for example, during the last Adelaide Cabaret Festival, we had artists like Kate Ceberano, Rizo, Catherine Alcorn and Julia Zemiro quite happy and comfortable to chat with our regular clients whilst having their hair done in the salon.”
As for which big names Ida and Joe would like to see in the salon, they say: “The cool and gorgeous Hadid sisters. We love both Bella and Gigi, love their style and love the way they can go from street to glamour looking incredible.”
Famous for its “twisty round brush blow-dry” which creates “frick-a-shay gorgeous waves without using a hot tool, that last for days”, Orbe is one of SA’s most awarded hairdressing businesses. Its Norwood salon was also inducted into the Hall of Fame in the 2020 Eastside Business Awards.
CLIP JOINT
What do fashion stylist-to-the-stars Nicole Bonython-Hines and Clip Joint have in common? Why, they are both part of Adelaide family dynasties.
Nicole is the daughter of the late, great power couple Kym and Julie Bonython, and Clip Joint is owned and operated by the Cappella family; Alfredo Cappella opened the first Clip Joint salon in 1970. Today there are three – at Burnside Village and in Rundle and Melbourne streets – plus a training academy, Clip Joint Education, in the CBD.
Asked about celebrity clients, Clip Joint wasn’t giving much away other than to say this: “Yes – we are fortunate to look after local, national and international celebrities, athletes, fashion houses and business people. Some of which even fly in specifically for their Clip Joint appointments! We value their privacy though – so won’t drop names.”
The Advertiser can though – and will. Clip Joint has done Erika Heynatz’s hair and Tim Campbell’s quiff.
And Nicole Bonython-Hinze, who we mentioned before, has been a Clip Joint client for decades. The stylist behind Kylie’s “Better The Devil You Know” transformation recently gave the business a shout out on Insta.
“There is only one ‘extra’ thing I’m guilty of and that’s flying from Sydney to Adelaide to get my hair coloured,” Nicole wrote, adding: “Way back in about 1978 I started getting my hair cut and coloured at Clip Joint.”
Nicole added: “Mary who cut my hair asked if I would agree to have them photograph my haircut for their imagery … The staff at Clip Joint are impeccably trained and their technique is second to none. It’s totally worth the trip for me! Vanessa who colours my hair there is AMAZING!”
Famous for quality cuts, the Clip Joint team would love to do Amal Clooney’s hair: “She embodies our brand ethos of investing in personal style over continually following trends”.
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