BarcelonaPhilippe had little competition to realize his dream on Ibiza's Ses Salines beach in the 1980s. The young man, then 18, dreamed of one day owning a hair salon like his parents and grandparents had in Toulouse. The illusion of feeling the first fruits of a career that would last for decades led him to spend a few summers on one of the most popular beaches in the Balearic Islands, where he offered his services as an amateur hairdresser. There he encountered the first obstacles in the sector: he made himself understood in French and, above all, he managed to convince the public. Hippies From the white island it was appropriate to comb long hair from time to time.
Nowadays, Fenox has changed the white-sand beaches for the sands of Toro Park, where since the Olympics he has run the hair salon that bears his name, Philip Fenox. Language barriers have also been broken down, and now people compete to have their hair cut with sharp scissors under the watchful eyes of the French. Despite the years and experience gained, he still identified himself as an eighteen-year-old servant. “It left me with spontaneity, which is an attitude you don't find anymore,” he says with a playful smile.
Philip, while acknowledging family influence, considers himself self-taught. “At hairdressing courses they always told me: ‘Let him do it, he will do it himself,’” he says from one of the chairs where he has tended to his clients every day for the past 32 years. For good reason, Tolosa does not relent with the profession: “There are many hairdressers who have been cutting hair for many years and will never know how to cut. On the other hand, there are others who already see something when they start.”
From pop art to the 1992 Olympics
Phoenix must have seen something. After a short stint at the Fashion Academy in Paris, he moved on to styling hair at fashion shows for major brands such as Jean Paul Gaultier and Thierry Mugler. For him the key was to surround himself with people who “taught him to look.” But the final change was made a few years later. In the mid-eighties he moved to New York and there he changed the world of fashion in the film and music industry. Among the figures he worked with regularly were Robert De Niro, Bob Dylan, Lou Reed, Mick Jagger and David Bowie, although the latter notes that he only brought him in once “to fix his sideburns and the back of her neck.” Because her hair was cut so short.”
Inside the sober armor of black trousers and shirt, Fennox lights up with nostalgia as he recalls the pop art that “permeated everything” and which he feels today “lacks vitality and creativity.” But despite his proximity to Andy Warhol and Keith Haring, the Toulouse native missed the Mediterranean. That's why he settled in Barcelona in 1989 and, coinciding with the Olympic Games, opened his own hair salon in front of Toro Park. “Barcelona was it “The right place to be” Somehow, it has managed to continue that way with a dedicated clientele of public figures and unknowns such as Ronald Koeman, Oscar Tusquets, Frenkie de Jong, and even the former president of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont.
Johan, friend
Proper nouns seem to make him a ball as he pronounces them with his little mouth. But among the long list of famous names there is one that stops and everything returns to the comfort of the previous conversation. “He was a customer, but above all a friend.” Fino has cut the hair of Johan Cruyff and his entire family for three decades, and even now, the widow of the former player and Barcelona coach, Dani Koster, continues to faithfully attend the hair salon in Carrer Burri and Fontista. He says of his friend with nostalgia: “She is a little disappointed, but she is recovering little by little.” “It is very difficult,” he adds.
But off the field, Cruyff also created a school and made the legacy of the illustrious Dutchman associated with FC Barcelona now congregate in the same hairdresser. Koeman, De Jong, Micky De Jong and the exception: Dani Alves “What now… finally.” Venoux speaks of footballers with some hesitation: “Man… players in general are a world. Fortunately the people who come here want more relaxed hairstyles.” Although the hairstylist is a big supporter of finding each person's personality in their hairstyle, Fino is adamant: “The issue of lines and shaved sides… I respect it, but it's not my world.”
Unofficial Barcelona and Gomina Madrid
Calm and educated expertise What the designer emits is a contrast to the assertiveness when talking about his profession. “My hands have never been shaky. If you doubt your ability to realize the idea in your head, it's bad. It's better to be honest and let it go. Also, the client will not walk away convinced if you are not sure what you want. They do,” says the hairdresser. His hands did not shake on October 4, 1997, the day he cut the hair of the entire royal family at the wedding of Infanta Cristina and Iñaki Urdangarin in Barcelona.
As you can imagine, “generally they asked for classic, traditional hairstyles,” with the exception of one person: Princess of Preslaus and Valentino’s muse, Rosario Nadal. “She was the only young woman with short hair. She was extraordinary!” Nadal is certainly an exception within the scene that Fino is talking about. Madrilinians” more AttitudesThey comb their hair with gum and wax, which is the style here [Barcelona] “You can't see it.” Their heads are worn very differently by residents of the Catalan capital, who “style their hair in a largely informal manner.” In fact, it was precisely this Mediterranean relaxation that convinced the hairdresser to bet on Barcelona: “This is the possibility to do new things in an important market: a more exclusive style, more Parisian, with more relevant cuts.”
It's been 32 years, and even now he continues to defend the “carefree side” of his living room filled with mirrors and hidden doors. Now, this oasis of spontaneity has created a following who surrender their hair under the pretext of “Do what you want, I trust you!”. After going through the humane gaze and patience of the famous designer, the client is likely to be happy with the result. But what is certain is that before heading out the door, Fino is quick to gently comb her hair to get that “shaggy touch,” because “there's nothing worse than someone who looks like they're leaving the salon.”
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