8 minute read
2021 AHIA Creative Best Men’s Hair Specialist, Anthony Staltari
Anthony’s journey into men’s hair is quite an amazing story, so is the tale of how he did this collection. He told his place of work he was going to London to do a cutting course and came back with this amazing body of work. It seemed Anthony had it all worked out and pulled of this feat with military precision.
This is a young man with great talent, creative vision and drive. Let’s get to know him a little better shall we…
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To kick things off, can you give us a brief summary of your career so far?
I began cutting hair in my garage for my friends when I was 14 and this is when my passion began. After a year I started posting photos of my haircuts on an Instagram page. Don De Sanctis the owner of Barber Boys came across my Instagram page and contacted my high school to offer me an apprenticeship. At age 16 I left school and began my apprenticeship with Barber Boys and never looked back. I entered my first barber competition at age 17 as a second-year apprentice. I entered the Senior Men’s Hairdresser category in South Australia and ended up winning. After winning this competition I had a drive to enter more competitions. I found barber competitions interstate and travelled there to participate. One of my achievements was winning the Australian barber title. After winning the Australian Barber title in Sydney my sponsors decided to send me to New York to participate in one of the largest barber competitions in the world. It was such a privilege to be part of this and to meet so many people within the industry. I didn’t get a win, but it was definitely an amazing experience. I was also lucky enough to travel to Las Vegas. I then decided I wanted to focus on education which was something I really have a passion for. My first experience educating was at the Melbourne Hair Expo at age 17. I was told just to demonstrate a haircut and explain how to use the clippers. After this my sponsors regularly sent me to educate interstate. I was also able to educate in China and New Zealand. I could never have imagined when I started my career at the age of 16 where this industry would take me, it has enabled me to travel to so many places and educate. I have put in a lot of hard work to achieve this and have been very lucky and honoured to had so many opportunities in past 7 years. In 2019 and 2020 I entered a collection in the Australian Awards and resulted as a finalist for each category I entered. I was determined to work harder and to create a winning collection. In 2020 I decided to travel to London for my collection as I believed it provided the best resources available for the collection I wanted to create.
I chose this textured crop as I was inspired by the strong British style. I believe that simple texture always pops especially with good facial structures.
When creating my collection I wanted to do something quite modern, and this is why I chose this particular model suited for a fade and a classic look without sharpening the hairline too much.
With this model once he was dressed, I completely changed my original idea of soft curls. Noticing his strong jaw line, I decided to do a centre part to emphasise his features.
Winning this award was a dream come true, I worked so hard on this collection. Being a finalist twice over the last two years to winning was just such an amazing experience. When I started barbering as a first-year apprentice, I had a drive to get on the AHIA stage. It took a lot of hard work and after-hours practicing. I am also so thankful for the help and encouragement I received along the way from my mentors Don De Sanctis, Lou Fimmano & Johnny Georgiou from Barbery the Craft of a Barber.
Please tell us how you prepared for your winning collection.
I originally had a few ideas in my head as to what I wanted the shoot to look like. I began by purchasing mannequins and practiced different ideas, cutting and styling over and over until I was satisfied with 6 different styles. I then picked out elements where I thought I was lacking, one thing being blunt cutting. I am fortunate enough to have a sponsor, Tony Scarfo, who is a very successful Hairdresser and asked him for some one-on-one training where we practised on different hair textures and lengths until it was perfected. I also contacted Charlie Cullen a barber and educator in London who I admire for his talent. When I arrived in London I met up with Charlie and practised medium length styling where I was able to learn some amazing techniques. From this I was able to make some small tweaks to improve some of my styles.
Who did you collaborate with?
I had always wanted to work with Kevin Luchmun as a photographer, which is what drove me to fly to London for the photoshoot. I have followed Kevin on social media for years and have always admired his work. I also picked Kevin because he is not only a photographer but also a barber, with this in mind I thought he would know exactly how to make the shoot work and I could not have made a better choice. Kevin had given me a few names of stylists and makeup artists in London, I then looked over their work on their social media accounts and picked the people who I thought would work best with the idea I had in mind for the shoot. The selection of models was quite a difficult process, firstly I got in contact with a model agency over in London. I created a mood board of all the models with hair textures I was looking for. They then sent me a variety of different models back and forth until I found six which I was happy with. When I arrived in London a few models that I selected had pulled out which was stressful. I then worked with the agency to find some last-minute models, thankfully it all worked out in the end.
This was the model that I was most worried about, however it ended up being one of my favourite photos. I wanted something different with this model having bright orange hair with the glasses. I also used a technique where the hair goes from wet to dry.
How many shoots like this have you done and how did this one differ?
Prior to this collection I had done several photoshoots in Adelaide, but I had a limitation in the selection of models for the styles that I wanted to create. This was another reason as to why I choose to go to London and go all out with this shoot. I knew I had a huge selection of models I could choose from and that I would be able to create what I wanted. Everything in this collection worked exactly to my imagination from the models to the styling and makeup I was happy and confident with the final product.
With this model I wanted the style to steer away from barbering techniques and do something different with longer hair. Using blow drying techniques to create a soft bob to enhance the model’s facial features.
How did the shoot go for you and did it meet expectations?
The photoshoot involved the evolving of all the ideas I had in mind. When I brought some to life they didn’t look as effective as I imagined on camera, so I had to change it up and try different things until eventually achieved the looks I wanted. One of my favourite shots was by luck, I remember I started this style it wasn’t turning out as I had hoped, I then wet his hair and began to comb out the style I had created and as I was doing this it created a really effective look, so I decided to shoot it and it turned out great! The studio for the photoshoot was quite open and we used a lot of natural light. Around 4pm it got quite dark and hard to see, I used my mobile phone for additional lighting to help me finish doing the fade.
Which part of the process did you enjoy the most?
The most enjoyable part of this collection was being able to travel internationally. Travelling to London meant I was able to meet all my hairdressing icons; people who I had always followed and admired on social media. Not only was I able to meet them but I was able to collaborate ideas and work with them to create my dream collection. I was only 21 years old at the time so being able to create my collection in another country was overall such an amazing experience for me. During the trip I witnessed new hair innovations, quite to different to Australia which gave me ideas on new styles I could create on different textures of hair. I was also able to provide them with new ideas and skills that they had not previously seen before. The skills I have learnt I have taken home with me and use today.
With this collection I really wanted to do a mullet and found it challenging to find the right model. A couple of days before the shoot I got a call from the modelling agency with someone suitable. I went for a very blunt fringe using the length at the back to create a natural flow.
Anthony with Kevin Luchmun
So, are you hooked? Will we see more collections and entries in competition and awards in the future?
Absolutely, I love the feeling of being on set and working on hair at such a creative level. It is something I want to definitely keep doing and pushing myself to be more creative and keep learning to be the best I can be. With this collection I really wanted to do a mullet and found it challenging to find the right model. A couple of days before the shoot I got a call from the modelling agency with someone suitable. I went for a very blunt fringe using the length at the back to create a natural flow.
