Feature - Graham Oglesby Interview

Text / Images by Jamie Harrison // Published Tuesday 1 December 2010
 
Graham Oglesby talks exclusively about his inspiration, influences and philosophy of hairdressing. He also tells us how he uses MyHairDressers.com and what it means to him within Further Education. Graham spent the day in the MyHairDressers.com studios cutting model Katia Ivanova's hair.

 
What are you up to at the moment?

When I returned from North America I decided to move away from touring / platform work and moved into Further Education. For the last five years, along with work colleagues such as Tracey Sajno and my partner Sarah Oglesby, I've been trying to change the face of hairdressing. It gets a bad rep - outside of college people's attitude towards people who have trained in college is really poor.

We have a really strong team at Stockport College. We moved in five years ago and helped turned around teaching and learning in the department. We currently have a Grade 1 from OSTED and were awarded the Learning and Skills Beacon status in 2008. I think that reputation has the potential to spread through other colleges, and by working with MyHairDressers.com. There’s a lot of internet resources working closely with colleges such as Habia. As good as they are and useful as they are, I don't know if they're current and really have the dynamics to push college education into a more urban environment. So discovering MyHairDressers.com was fantastic to me because now I know have a resource in the classroom that's like having a close friend or working with a colleague again. It's always there in the background, always on a video screen. It's something I can always rely on. It talks my language; it reinforces and backs up my approach to hair and beauty. 

From where do you draw your Inspiration?

It mainly comes from music and musicians. I like photography as well - I get a lot of inspiration from my brother Bernard Oglesby who's a fine art photographer and film maker. He's a big part of my life and always has been he's a very intense and deep thinker. Other photographers inspire me too, such as William Egglestone, the way he uses colour in his work and the way he looks at nature... but my main inspiration really comes from music, not just the music but the language too.
 

Who are your influences?

In hairdressing, it's Vidal Sassoon - always! Tim Hartley played a very big part in my development and how I seen things now. I worked with Tim initially when I started at Sassoon; he was already an Art Director for Northern England. He was just someone that one aspired to be - a great influence. It was a really exciting time from the early 80s to the early 90s and his vision at that time surpassed anybody.

I'm very much influenced by designers such as Jean Paul Gaultier, Comme des Garcons and the late Alexander McQueen. I've always viewed hair as a piece of fabric and work like a designer, piecing it together, almost tailoring it to fit around the head and around the body.
 

Who's your Style Icon?

David Bowie, Bryan Ferry. I think Bowie because he's a chameleon and constantly changes and moves with the times. I like the stylish Ferry after the glam thing with his smart suits and ties which is very cool and glamorous.

 
Do you have a favourite technique?

Not really, I suppose my favourite technique is technique. I like very clean lines and strong foundations, anything that creates structure and movement in the hair. I'd always say my favourite technique is Sassoon technique!

 
What's hot right now?

I really like that recently there's a return to structure, foundation and clean lines. And we're seeing a lot of texture and natural movement in hair. Being an ex Sassoon boy, that was how I was always brought up to think and develop. Hair shouldn't always be forced to do something it doesn't want to do; you should be working with the material.

 
Do you have some Top Tips for us to pass on to our subscribers?

Stay true to yourself and don't ever do something because you think you have to do it. Only do something because you know that know in your heart and mind you’re going to be able to stand back at the end and look at it as a beautiful thing. Education is imperative for any hairdresser - you have to be out there all time. Look at what's going on: look at websites like MyHairDressers.com, go to academies and constantly be updating and refreshing your skills. If there's a time when you think you don't have to be educated in this industry any more, that's the time you need to put your scissors down and think about being something else.
 

How important are online education facilities like MyHairDresssers.com?

It's essential for all hairdressers. When I first discovered MyHairDresssers.com, one thing that struck me was that if I ever went to a show to watch people and then wanted to but a video or DVD, it would cost me maybe £80 or £100 for one DVD with one look, you know, one cut and one colour. But here you have a fantastic resource where for a minimal subscription you have access to hundreds of fantastic videos of haircuts and colour and really insightful knowledge. It's constantly being updated so there are new streams every month. Education is essential, and online education is even more essential and definitely the way you should be looking now.
 

How was your first shoot with MHD?

It's been great to be back in a situation where there's no pressure, just to be who I want to be and work the way I want to work and have freedom to do what I want to do. What I've really enjoyed about it, is that I've been allowed to take my time, there's been no distraction around me at all, I've been in  my own little bubble. I know there are a lot of people out there that call themselves artists. I would never call myself an artist within this industry, but I am a creative individual and I like the chance to be inside that bubble and allow the passion to come through.