John Nollet, the renowned hair stylist, talks taste
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My personal style signifier is a Charvet shirt. For maybe 10 years, I’ve had my shirts custom-made there. I think that everything is in the details. I like a shirt to have a high collar and be worn with cufflinks, mostly. The shirt is the bedrock of my look, sometimes with a scarf. I have scarves from all over – from Charvet but also from the flea market, and from one of my best friends, Laurence Heller, who creates them for me from vintage clothes. @hellerlaurence
The last thing I bought and loved was a new pair of Birkenstocks. This summer I was in Tuscany, in a little village in the province of Lucca, when I discovered a beautiful old shop, which, surprisingly, had all the latest Birkenstocks. I bought the Mayari style and I’m very happy with it. I feel like they’ve changed something with the design. They look the same but they feel better than ever. From £65, birkenstock.com
And on my wishlist is a piece of art by Brazilian artist Janaina Mello Landini. I discovered her work at the Fondation Carmignac on Porquerolles – an island in the Iles d’Hyères, in south-east France – where she has created a site-specific installation in rope cord. It was very delicate and resembled a heart but also a tree – and although it’s not the story that the artist wanted to talk about, it made me think of hair. I can imagine a piece of her work in my studio in Paris.
The first rule of haircare is to use the best products for your type of hair. This will give your hair the best texture. I love the Dry Texturising Spray from Oribe – I use this a lot on set because it gives an amazing natural look; I don’t like hair that is too slinky and perfect. And I like to use Elnett Hairspray, which is very light. That very effortless Parisian tousled look is actually a lot of work. You need tools to create this effect – but it shouldn’t look like you used tools. So you make a curl, and then destroy the curl. Dry Texturising Spray, $48 for 300ml, oribe.com
If I weren’t doing what I do, I would be an architect. I loved being involved in the design of my studio space, which I worked on with architecture firm Alain-Dominique Gallizia. There’s a technical foundation to creating a haircut – it is based in architecture. I never take less than an hour and a half on a haircut.
An object I would never part with is the suitcase that I created with Rimowa, which is designed to hold all my hairdressing tools. A long time ago, I created something similar with Louis Vuitton – it’s unbelievably beautiful, all custom-made, but too heavy to travel easily with, so I wanted to create something similar but also light. I did a small limited-edition series with Rimowa and it sold out in a second. Mine is unique, though, and I can’t go anywhere without it. I feel free with this luggage. If I’m on holiday and get a booking somewhere in the world, I can just go.
A recent “find” is a vegan restaurant in Paris called Les Bols d’Antoine in the 20th arrondissement. It’s amazing – I’ve discovered so many different flavours. It also has a very beautiful view across Paris. lesbolsdantoine.fr
Lately, I’ve been thinking differently about the work that nurses do. And who is taking care of them? So I created an association called Take Hair, and we have a website where hair salons all over France can offer free haircuts to caregivers. It took a long time to bring this concept into the world but it’s making me so happy. takehair-c19.com
My style icons range from James Bond and his look of very British elegance to the sadhus in India, with their dreadlocks, to Lawrence of Arabia. I love the mix of these three inspirations. Why not black tie with dreadlocks? I worked on the Bond film Spectre, on set for Monica Bellucci, and it was like being a child again, seeing Daniel Craig in a scene with Bellucci and saying the classic “Bond, James Bond” line.
The best gift I’ve given recently was cage-diving with sharks in Mexico. It was a present for my beloved. We are planning to go to Isla Guadalupe, off the coast of Mexico, which is the best place for this experience. To be honest, I’m not sure if I will go in the cage too. I’m leaving the option open.
And the best gift I’ve received was a pair of sunglasses from Maison Bonnet, a birthday gift from a friend who began as a client. The first time he came in for an appointment, his hair was looking great, and all it needed was 2mm here, 1mm there. So I suggested he come back in a month or two as there was so little to do. He said, “No, no, no, 2mm is exactly what I was looking for. Less is more. Do your work.” He is a true aesthete and brought me to Maison Bonnet for an exacting appointment that resulted in just the right glasses.
The best celebration in the world is the Rio Carnival. I love the energy. It’s about dancing, liberty and freedom. I love to dance – particularly the samba and particularly to the music of Maria Bethânia.
I have a collection of mementoes from the artist Sophie Calle, who I first met about 15 years ago at the Venice Biennale. I was there doing an exhibition of haircuts – all created with just one scissor-cut across a ponytail – when who should arrive on my chair? Sophie Calle. I love her work, so I was very happy when a few months later, her gallery Perrotin made an appointment for a haircut – a present for her birthday. She really loved it, but felt it was too expensive to keep up. So I said, “OK, this is what we’ll do – you create a piece for me and I’ll create a haircut for you.” And this exchange is what we’ve done for all these years. It’s usually pictures with a text, or it could be something she’s found in the flea market or a special edition of a book. I have maybe 10 pieces now.
In my fridge you’ll always find San Pellegrino sparkling water and soya milk. At home, I have mostly vegan stuff. I’m not vegan but I’ve been working on eating less and less meat and animal produce. If everybody could do the same, we could reduce a lot of environmental problems. I also keep apricot marmalade and salted butter for breakfast. And Laurent-Perrier rosé, so we are always ready to party.
The grooming staple I’m never without is my perfume, Penhaligon’s Blenheim Bouquet. I’ve worn it for 20 years, since working on a movie with the producer Philippe Carcassonne. I was cutting his hair when I smelt this amazing perfume. He left a small bottle for me at the hotel reception that same day because I loved it so much. It’s very fresh, with bergamot and vetiver. I later learned that it was originally created for Churchill. £110 for 100ml EDT, penhaligons.com
The last item of clothing I added to my wardrobe was a beautiful Celine pea coat. It’s cashmere. It’s black. I like pieces that are classic, so that I can use them for a long, long time. I’m not someone who is crazy about buying new things. With just a different scarf, for example, you can completely change the way a person sees you.
My grooming and wellbeing gurus are my personal trainer Charles Coudert, who is a kind, intelligent and beautiful man; my pedicurist, Alexandra Lawson; and Henri- Pierre Pace, an osteopath and acupuncturist. My nature is to be positive but whenever I’m not in a good mood, I run to Henri-Pierre – and two or three days later I begin to sing in the corridor, in the car, and my positive energy is back. Alexandra Lawson, +336-7374 2610. @charlescoudert. Henri-Pierre Pace, +331 4606 1524
With time on my hands, I’d love to tour the world by boat. On a boat, time is completely different. You can move, you can read – you just have the opportunity to take it slowly. I love sailing. And it’s amazing to go for a week. But to head off on a big adventure… It would be incredible to plan a trip on my friend [hairdresser] Christophe Robin’s boat, The Ginette, or an old restored Galeon. I hope that because we are talking about it, I will do it. If you’re not dreaming, nothing can happen.
An unforgettable place I’ve travelled to in the past year is Ibiza. I’ve been going to the same beautiful little cabana on the west side of the island for the past 25 years, and whenever I’m there, I feel like I’m completely away from everything. I love to watch the sunset and the way the shadows move around after 5pm. It’s very, very simple – like a Robinson Crusoe house. I was just beginning my work in hairstyling when I first went there. I was young and discovering new places every week, and I’ve found so many other places since, but this is still the one I love best. lesterrasses.net
The one artist I would collect if I could is Jean-Michel Othoniel. He works with glass: first making long strings of glass beads but in huge, huge dimensions; and now he’s creating sculptures with glass bricks. I discovered his work 20 years ago.
The last meal that truly impressed me was at the Hôtel Hermitage in Monte Carlo, where star chef Yannick Alléno took over the restaurant this year. I’m a big fan of his incredible menu at the Pavillon Ledoyen in Paris. While I’m in Courchevel I like to go to one of his restaurants, Le 1947 à Cheval Blanc, which has just a few tables, with minimal decor, but the food is incredible – like haute couture for the mouth. The way that he makes soup is based on an old tradition of putting rocks in the pot so that it doesn’t boil, but it’s cooked for hours and hours and the result is unbelievable. His new place in Monte Carlo is the same. It’s not food – it’s a type of art. montecarlosbm.com
One of my favourite books is Perfume by Patrick Süskind, for the sheer power of the words. On each page, you can smell everything that he writes about. The story is set in the 18th century around a protagonist called Jean-Baptiste Grenouille; the plot involves a murder, but really it’s about the power of scent.
I can’t imagine living anywhere other than Paris. I grew up in the north of France but moved to Paris aged 22 – now I’m 50, and although I love to travel I really feel at home here and can’t imagine settling anywhere else.
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