PROFILE
A Simple Plan Stylist Bill Rowley thrives behind the chair
By Kim Hughes
70
salon > september 06
w w w. s a lo n 5 2 . c a
PHOTO MARK MCNEILLY
M
eet Bill Rowley, everyman super-stylist. He loves fashion, Paris, his flaming-red 1976 Alpha Romeo, his pets (past and present) and being among a core group of pros who’ve made beauty and lifestyle TV show CityLine a ratings powerhouse. Entering his third year as host of the Contessa Awards (photo above), despite never having won one, ranks top 10 as well. But if push came to shove, Rowley would swap the lot to continue doing the one thing that brought him fame and fortune in the first place: standing behind a chair, giving a client an awesome haircut. In fact, he did just that— almost—in 2000, when he closed his own successful salon, Kiva, for space on the floor of someone else’s shop. Coming from almost anyone else, such a move might seem dubious. Yet Rowley, a stylist of great versatility and flare, is the genuine article. As he reflects on his career, Rowley spotlights his hits and misses with equal candor. Take the fortuitous CityLine connection. “If God touched me once, it was in July 1990 when I went on CityLine the first time,” he cracks. “They found me, Kiva was 11 months old, and I was plucked out of nowhere and put on national television. And it changed everything.”
