The only person Victoria Beckham trusts to colour her hair is heading Down Under
Josh Wood is London’s king of colour – tending to the tresses of Elle Macpherson, Kylie Minogue and more – is opening his first salon beyond the UK in Mecca Melbourne
On any given day at the Josh Wood Atelier in London – a matt-black mews house in Holland Park with a fleet of chauffeured cars purring outside – you might find Elle Macpherson having her colour refreshed, Erica Packer’s trademark inky locks being given a gloss, Renée Zellweger being tended to for her latest press tour, the hottest models being bleached for a fashion campaign, the countess-of-somewhere air-kissing Lady-somewhere-else, and model Laura Bailey flanked by a pair of dogs, her bum-length blonde mane swish-ready for a shoot or a night out.
Watching Josh Wood at work is like observing a sorcerer casting a spell. He bounds over, all 1.9 metres of him, to chat to his client; a combination of effortless charm and some kind of beyond-AI superhuman vision, assessing and analysing where that person is at that very moment in their life, love, work, time of year, cultural mood, need for power or dreaminess. Once all of that information is inputted into his creative computer-like brain, Wood starts waving his colouring brush like a wand. And then the magic happens.
Oh, Australian tresses … you have no idea how lucky you are. Next month, Josh Wood, the hair world’s king of colour, lands on your shores. He is opening his first salon outside of the UK and launching his product range – Josh Wood Colour – at Mecca’s new 4000-square-metre Bourke Street, Melbourne megastore.
It all started under less auspicious circumstances, in a town called Barnsley in the north of England. “I left school at 17 – it was horrible times; miners’ strikes, doom and gloom, not a great place to grow up if you’re different from everyone else.”
But everything changed when Wood got his first Saturday job, sweeping the floors in a local hairdresser. “The minute I walked into that salon, I thought, ‘F**k me, there is a god!’ It was the late ’80s; there were perms and streaks and cat’s tails. I’d never seen anything like it. I thought I was at the circus!” He adds, “In that moment I knew I wanted to be a hairdresser.”
However, after a year at the salon, the owner let him go, telling him, “We don’t think hairdressing is for you.” Wood is sweary at the memory, but the rejection proved a motivator. He got a job at Vidal Sassoon in nearby Leeds. “Back then, hair wasn’t like it is now, long and blonde or glamorous like in a magazine; it was ’80s-extreme; shaved, permed, dyed pink and blue.” He sips on a cup of English breakfast tea and adds, “I cut my teeth on very difficult hair. And the precision of that training stood me in good stead”.
Soon he was sent to work at Vidal Sassoon on London’s Sloane Street. Wood’s eyes widen at the memory. “I’d only been to London once before – on the bus on a school trip … I found it very odd, it was like people talked in tongues,” he laughs. “I remember someone saying, ‘Mrs so-and-so hair’s finished. Could you get her driver?’ I remember thinking – screwdriver? Bus driver? I had no idea. I was like a fish out of water.”
Wood’s talent soon had them flocking; Jerry Hall, Meg Ryan, members of Duran Duran and Bananarama. He became friends with Alexander McQueen and worked with David Bowie. “I turned him red again.”
But the pivotal moment came after a trip to New York. Wood was bemoaning the lack of a brilliant hair salon in London when his friend said, “You need to start one”. With no money and no backer, Wood opened Real Hair; a raw, exposed-brick aesthetic in the heart of old-school swanky Chelsea, employing catwalk hair stylists for his fashion-forward clients. It was a hit.
London in the ’90s was filled with American bankers’ wives who wanted mega grooming. “It was a new kind of society,” explains Wood. “These women were buying couture and wanted a different hairdo every night of the week. It was mental.” Meanwhile, his increasingly global clients – Russian, Indian, Chinese, wives of despots, oligarchs, heads of state and (sometimes the husbands, too) – were flying him all over the world. “I’d do New York, Paris, Korea, all in a week. In some countries, I had armed guards, other times I’d be dropped onto a yacht in the middle of the ocean.” And the catwalk was clamouring for him, too; designers aware of how hair could make an impact on a newsworthy, global level. At Prada he famously coloured every model’s hair either black, white or copper. And at Jean Paul Gaultier, he turned all of their heads’ grey, which made the cover of The New York Times.
Then 13 years ago, Wood moved from Chelsea to open in Holland Park (pictured below). “Most salons have a big glass front. This was the first in London to have a closed-door policy; you have to press a buzzer to go in.” Yet again, Wood had the Midas touch. The next stamp of approval came two years ago, when the Maybourne hotel group asked Wood to open the first-ever salon within Claridge’s. “I’ve always been drawn to that old-fashioned glamour,” Wood says. “When I worked at Vidal Sassoon, I’d spend my entire salary on one cocktail at Claridge’s. So opening a salon there … was the icing on the cake.”
But Wood had a burning desire to sprinkle his colour magic further afield, not just for the privileged few. “The majority of hair colouring is done at home,” he explains. “I wanted to offer a truly salon-grade formulation,” he adds. “And I wanted to democratise the knowledge, share the fingerprint and the ideas with digital consultations, create a community, restyle the industry. Colouring your hair at home doesn’t have to feel cheap. I wanted to make it glamorous.” So in 2018 he launched Josh Wood Colour, a new way to colour your hair at home while having your hand held virtually by the world’s greatest colourist.
At the heart of the product range is the care-focused Miracle System; anti-breakage, hydration, holding colour – all the important stuff. “Because without good-conditioned hair, you’ll get crap colour,” Wood says. Then there’s the permanent hair colour; vegan and non-toxic that conditions your hair while colouring it, with exclusive Shade Shots to create nuanced colours. The final element is the Root Wardrobe for those “oh shit” moments – a dry shampoo, a root smudger to touch up highlights, a blending brush to cover naughty greys.
This new partnership with Mecca has been like an extended hot date. “The journey to Josh was a long one!” says Marita Burke, chief Mecca-Maginations officer. “We met with every iconic salon in the world until we found a place, a team and a brand that our customers would connect with. It was Josh Wood Atelier that gave us that ‘ping’!”
Jonathan Davies, Josh Wood Colour co-founder and Wood’s partner of 28 years agrees. “We’ve been flirting with each other since 2018,” he explains. “Mecca has such a great reputation of working with the best, the experts, nurturing brands – and with the upcoming launch of Mecca in Melbourne, the stars aligned. For the first time, we’re able to offer the whole Josh Wood wraparound experience all in one place; salon services, sharing expertise and delivering the product.”
“In the salon at Mecca, we’ll be able to create some tonal colour and techniques that haven’t ever been seen before,” Wood adds, increasingly excited for his visit to Sydney and Melbourne. “I think there’s a big market for very individual blondes. It’s a horror to me that many people stay the same hair colour all their lives! Colour always needs to be assessed and reassessed to make it contemporary, because life changes, fashion changes, shit changes.”
As Wood knocks back the last of his tea and biscuits, before heading to Paris to work with Tilda Swinton for a Chanel film, I ask if there’s anyone whose hair he still longs to do? Wood shakes his head. “I’ve kind of done ’em all,” he replies. “Ultimately the pleasure is in the transformation and the energy I impart when I do someone’s colour – so it doesn’t have to be a big name, it could be Mrs Smith.”
“Last week I did a doctor’s hair at the Claridge’s salon. The next day she sent me a note; she never imagined her hair could look so good. That’s it really. I just want to make people feel … great.”
The word on Wood
Victoria Beckham
“For all the years that I’ve known Josh, he is the only person I trust with my colour. He has such a specific eye and has taught me that even the slightest change can make such a difference. When it comes to colour, Josh is an artist.”
Elle Macpherson
“In the fashion, beauty and wellness worlds, I’ve often been synonymous with long, healthy, sexy hair. My hair influences my face, skin tone and body proportions – and a good cut and colour has the potential to change everything. I have worked with Josh for more than 30 years across all manner of hues, and he has the knack of knowing how to keep me looking natural and modern. I’ve relied on him for colour transformations that I didn’t know I needed! He knows me so well, I can trust him to add freshness, vitality and a contemporary feel.”
Erica Packer
“His eye is really unique – I’m happier with my hair colour than I’ve ever been. There aren’t enough glorious adjectives to describe Josh. Iconic, genius, legend. But that’s only half the story. Because he’s also the most caring, divine human and it’s such a treat to sit in his chair and be worked on; fun chats, laughing hard, learning about the best new restaurant to try and why I can’t go blonde! I always feel enriched leaving the atelier – with both my glossy hair and a full heart.”
Gwendoline Christie
“He’s iconic, a visionary, and someone I’d always wanted to work with. In reality, he’s incredibly kind and funny. He wants people to feel good. I never expected to have such a hoot in the chair with him.”
This story is from the May issue of WISH.
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