Adíos to Raffel Pages

A True Global Hair Icon

It is with great sadness that Irish Hairdresser shares the news of the death of AIPP Global Hair Icon, Raffel Pagès on May 10th 2021. Hairdresser, businessman and historian of hairdressing, he was a wonderful human being, an inspiring artist, an overwhelmingly successful businessman, Raffel was the founder and director of the chain of salons that bears his name and which currently has 80 establishments in Spain. The son of a hairdresser, he learned to love hairdressing at the CARITA in Paris, under the guidance of his mentor and teacher, Rosy Carita. There, in glamorous Paris, in that legendary salon, his soul as a hairdresser was formed, theoretically, philosophically and emotionally. Back in Barcelona, he worked with his father and his brother in the family business, before opening his own salon. In the mid-70s he began to travel throughout Europe, starring in shows, seminars and ateliers, where he conveyed his passionate understanding for the profession - something Raffel called "Emotional Hairdressing" - not only carried out with the hands, but with the senses and emotions.

In the Olympic year of Barcelona 92, he inaugurated his renowned Instituto de Perfeccionamiento, a temple of education where thousands of hairdressers have been trained and the starting point of the exponential growth of his fi rm in the 90s. Raffel Pagès opened salons throughout Spain, in Italy and even in his beloved Paris, consolidating itself as one of the main chains of hairdressers in Europe. For Raffel Pagès, the keys to success are his four I's: Investing, Investigating, Intuiting and Innovating - in addition to continuing to fi rmly believe in continuous training, with the aim of never stopping evolving: "You have to learn throughout your life, I am still learning and will continue to do so until the end of my days. " Passionate about art and history, he began to collect objects related to the hairdressing profession in 1960, until founding the most important Museum of the History of Hairdressing in the world, located in the central Rambla de Catalunya in Barcelona and that today exceeds the 14,000 pieces. In recent years, Raffel received in London the prestigious Hair Legend Award from the hands of the AIPP (International Association of the Hairdressing Press) during the world famous Alternative Hair Show, while continuing to dedicate much of his time to growing his Museum and following the in front of his chain of salons together with his two daughters, Carolina and Quionia Pagès, who continue to lead the fi rm today, respecting the pure essence with which it was founded.

Estetica was in charge of the edition of his book 'One Hundred Years of Hairdressing' (2009) on the occasion of L'Oréal's centenary and the catalogue of the exhibition 'Art Coiffure - The Raffel Pages Collection' (2010). “I met Raffel at many AIPP events and indeed have visited his famous ‘Museum of the History of Hairdressing’ on many occasions where I felt the huge sense of his pride in keeping history available for the industry so more can be learned in the future. It was evident that his passion for the industry and craft knew no bounds.” Maeve O’Healy-Harte Our deepest condolences are extended to his family and to his many friends in the hairdressing world RIP, Raffel Pages, gone but will never be forgotten.