Yes, I am back again with yet another heartwarming story of a Bollywood Superhero, and this time it is an international talent. Celebrity hairstylist Mike Desir has been in showbiz for almost 15 years now and let me tell you, he has worked with the creme-de-la-creme of Bollywood and Hollywood. He has styled models for the biggest of runways and fashion weeks and he still has that fire to keep reinventing himself. In B-town, Mike has worked with Alia Bhatt, Janhvi Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Katrina Kaif, and Ananya Panday, and on a global level, he has styled Lily Collins from Emily In Paris, and that has even gotten him the Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Award for Best Contemporary Hair Styling last year. This year too he has a nomination.
With such an amazing body of work, I spoke to Mike about his journey, which by the way is still a long one. Read on…
Taking me through his journey, Mike shared, how it all began…
I started in fashion 15 years ago, as a young hairdresser in my native country Paris. I started to create a name for myself quickly, thanks to my creativity, I could create hairstyles with anything I got my hands on, modeling clay, wood, fabric, etc. I loved the fashion weeks, I was in the teams of the greatest trendy hairdressers from NYC, Milan to Paris, to name a few, I have worked with Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Dior, Gucci, Lanvin, Chloe, Sonia Rykiel. For me, it wasn’t about how many models I could style per show, but I wanted to style the most complex models who were far from the result we wanted for the final look of the show.
He further added,
I think I have a lucky star that watches over me, and guides me. I have always had ambitions to move forward with a strategy on how to achieve my goals. I remember when I was known for my creativity, my agency in Paris told me, that one of the clients liked my work, and the other was afraid that I was too creative. A few days later I went to my agency, I had made new images, I changed my portfolio. My goal was to have magazine covers, like Elle, Madame Figaro which are good references to validate my skills in Paris, and my mission succeeded. It’s very important that your portfolio can be loved by everyone, so you have to find simple, more elaborate, very creative, themed, revisited vintage hairstyles to the most modern ones. It is always a renewal of oneself, a questioning for its evolution, to make our difference with another artist.
Mike even shared an impressive list of celebrities he has worked with, he said…
I’ve worked with a lot of celebrities for the Cannes Film Festival, but I’m known worldwide for doing hairstyles for Lily Collins, the lead in Emily in Paris. I was lucky enough to do all three seasons of this Netflix series. It’s a very Parisian series that is based on fashion, love and life choices. I also work with a lot of Bollywood actresses like Janhvi Kapoor, Ananya Panday, Anushka Sharma, Rashmika Mandanna, Katrina Kaif, Deepika Padukone, and others. One of my favorites is Alia Bhatt, she is one of the celebrities who agreed to change her hairstyle for a more different look.
Talking about winning an award for Emily In Paris, Mike says,
Receiving a Guild Award for Best Contemporary Hairstyle for Emily in Paris Season 2 was very rewarding. This validation is a great way to push the limits, achieve goals, and also to thank the people who have always believed in me, my parents. For me today, having an award helps me a lot when I’m doing a shoot or a movie, it allows me to have a freedom of expression on the ideas of hairstyle. My actress Emily had 18 different hairstyles for the new season. I am nominated for the Guild Award for season 3 of Emily in Paris, the winner will be deliberated in mid-February 2023.
Sharing a piece of advice for budding and aspiring hairstylist, Mike commented…
There are so many things to know about being a good hairdresser, it’s having the right attitude, knowing how to place yourself on a set, being a good listener and working as part of a team. Hairdressing is a piece of image. I remember one of the questions I asked myself when I started was “how to be creative”. It all starts with observation. Another key to success is to train, to practice, to do hairstyles 3000 times so that it is our subconscious that guides our fingers to style and that our mind remains free of any creativity. And don’t forget that what gives us success today, won’t be successful tomorrow, so we must constantly renew ourselves.
Well, he is the best at what he does and I am hopeful to see him reach greater heights doing what he loves. Here’s wishing Mike all the very best in all his future endeavors.