Colourist to the stars will blonde and bond – but don’t expect him to dye and tell

George Giavis is a sought-after Sydney hairdresser who has created gold-standard looks for some of our most high profile people – but he will never tell you who they are.

In-demand hair colourist George Giavis – with his client, designer Charlie Brown – is popular because he refuses to treat his work as a hashtag opportunity. Picture: John Appleyard

Breaking-up with Sydney’s most discreet and in-demand hair colourist George Giavis would be worse than a divorce.

That’s what more than a few of Giavis’ fiercely loyal and dependent clients say about the colouring master who has been the go-to hairdresser for our city’s most high-profile, wealthy and famous for more than three decades – but you’ve likely never of him. He doesn’t cut and tell.

For the past 30 years, his salons have been a haven for his well-heeled clientele, a place where the gossip flows as easily as the shampoo and conditioner.

When Giavis opened his first salon in his mother’s South Sydney home in the ’90s, the smell of his mother’s Greek cooking was as much of a drawcard as his flawless hair colouring for his clients.

“I started doing home visits in the early ’90s and then clients would come to my parents’ house in Rosebery, and I built up a really loyal clientele,” says Giavis.

Hair stylist George Giavis opened his first salon in Woollahra – after originally working from his parents’ home, where the smell of his mother’s Greek cooking was as much of a drawcard as his flawless hair colouring. Picture: John Appleyard

“I had a lot of very high-profile women who would come to my family home.

“I had a room next to the kitchen … all you could smell was the aroma of my mum’s cooking.

“My mother can’t cook for two people, she cooks for 10. My clients would literally go there for her food – dishes like galaktoboureko, baklava and kourabiedes.

“My clients now still ask for her moussaka.”

George Giavis was inspired by Versailles when envisioning his series of private rooms. Picture: John Appleyard

But it got to a point where it became too crowded in mum’s kitchen, so he surveyed his clients and asked them where he should open a salon – and everyone said Woollahra. So, in 1995, he opened the doors to the George Giavis Salon – and the VIP suite within the salon called the Blonde Room – on Queen St, Woollahra.

“I chose the street because I loved the village-like atmosphere of the area,” he says.

“We found a space that had been used as the famous actor’s studio, June Cann’s, which was where Naomi Watts, Bryan Brown and Rachel Ward used to train.

“We took over the property and converted the interiors with Cameron Kimber and made it timeless, like a French boudoir. Versaille was my inspiration, and I always envisioned a series of private rooms.”

On any given day in these private rooms, you will find Sydney’s most wealthy, celebrities, models, magazine editors – and juicy tales to boot.

“I’m passionate about privacy and that’s our whole philosophy – we ensure all our clients enjoy every moment of their long-haul hair services,” he says with a smile.

“Privacy is important for me because privacy is really important to them. I am not a goldfish bowl salon.”

Unlike some local celebrity hairdressers who pounce on the opportunity to flaunt their clientele on social media or in the press, Giavis believes the fact he refuses to treat his work as a hashtag opportunity is the key to his continuing success.

George Giavis client, actor Samantha Allsop.

George Giavis client, model Evelyn Rose

“This is not a place for the Kardashians,” he says.

“There are the wannabe salons – we are not one. This is a place where established people go.

“This isn’t an Instagram salon.

“We may have magnificent chandeliers and leopard print walls but you can wear your track pants … because no one else can see you.

“Privacy is one of the greatest gifts we can give our clients, and that really made us even more popular in Covid, when people needed seclusion.

“My clients are the sort of people who don’t need more publicity, they don’t need people knowing their business.

“They are mostly really private or successful people, doctors, lawyers and business owners, and are very discreet.”

While the stories he has heard may be a gossip columnist’s dream, Giavis will never dye and tell.

“You blonde and you bond,” he said. “I think all that time together, in the privacy of your own suite, means you get to know people very, very well.

“One of my clients said it would feel like a terrible divorce if she left me.

“I’d do anything for my clients. I feed them, I go through the break-ups and divorces, I’ve got lawyers on speed dial, I connect them with doctors, I work long hours, I source them unique products … we become very close in a genuine way.”

George Giavis in his Woollahra salon. The stylist and colourist hears plenty of juicy gossip but “I will never tell. These walls will never talk”. Picture: John Appleyard

But you will never find out finer details, because “I will never tell. These walls will never talk”.

“Sometimes I think I could write three books with the stories I have heard or seen but it would have to be anonymous – what I can tell you is that reality is stranger than fiction,” he laughs.

“I’ve literally seen it all.

“I’ve helped famous clients on their feet after operations., I’ve seen them raw after divorces. I’ve had fashion designers and famous actresses drop their gown to the floor and demand I colour their hair naked.

“I busted one famous madam trying to do a secret sexy shoot in the Blonde Room, but had to tell her to stop.

“But I will never tell who … I’m very loyal to my clients.”

So loyal is Giavis that. at one point, he hadn’t had a holiday in 20 years.

“It’s just hard as my clients don’t like me to leave and I don’t want to let them down. I’m trying to get better at taking a break,” he says.

Giavis is known for his dedication to his craft and his genuine passion for helping individuals feel their best.

He is loved for his gregarious, chatty and wildly passionate demeanour.

“There is no pretension, even though he loves beautiful things,” a client said.

“He’s a very down-to-earth person, with strong family values, so while his salon seems glamorous, he is a very grounded person who often has his mum helping out and cooking.

That duality is appealing to the people that go there. They don’t want to be ‘seen’. They don’t need to be.

“He loves his customers, and really admires women in general, so it doesn’t really matter to him who they are or what they do – which is why I think a lot of high-profile people go to him. He’s a breath of fresh air, with his mum serving Greek sweets, and telling him to clean up.”

Giavis’ work is so admired that he has been asked by the world’s top hair care labels to stock their brand exclusively. But he goes against the grain and mixes and matches colour brands and products.

“Unlike other salons, we are not aligned to any brand,” Giavis said.

“This gives us the luxury to select the best colours and products from all over the world. We are renowned for our signature expensive blonde, and are proud that many of Australia’s most well-known natural blondes are our clients.

“I just won’t tell you who.”

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