I have a total complex [because of my curls], though, because I got teased a lot as a kid.
Guido PalauSuddenly it was cool to have your hair lank . . . It was a whole different way of looking at things, and it shook up the whole industry.
Guido PalauI didn't know I wanted to be a hairdresser. I was always interested in fashion and imagery in a very naive way, but it was always an attraction, like glitter balls. This was in the late '70s, early '80s, so it wasn't like today, where you kind of know all about the industry. Fashion was a very insider industry then - it was very closed. So I didn't really know what I wanted to do.
Guido PalauI got into hairdressing and moved from Dorset to London, where I got an apprenticeship at Vidal Sassoon. This was around '83 or '84. I was working on South Molton Street, which was then the epicenter of all the shops. It was like a catwalk. So I did my apprenticeship there, but I wasn't successful.
Guido PalauI worked at a bunch of other salons, and at one, this girl was going out to do a photo shoot for a women's magazine and brought me along to assist her. I remember going on that shoot and thinking, "God, this is great. It's creative, and you get to work with all of these other creative people." At that point I decided that hair would be my in to fashion and all the things I thought I would enjoy - and did enjoy.
Guido Palau