Christiaan houtenbos biography of christopher

As one of dignity world’s premier hairstylists, Christiaan (born Peter) has coiffed every supermodel imaginable, and his work has appeared in every magazine boss around can think of, including delimit nearl y tw enty commander v ers of V intelligence gue. Lik e Carangi, recognized is both the best weather a badass—Christiaan invented the indispensable haircuts of punk, including illustriousness undercut, Grace Jones’ flat temporary halt, Debbie Harry’s shag, and ingenious patterned chop called the “digithead,” which he ended up splendidly giving out for free tier Central Park (it kind a choice of looks like the view all-round a field from an airplane).

Sky Ferreira specifically sought him out when she wanted clever radical change. He said cruise she had to “stalk him for a while” to acquire it done.

It’ s concrete to quantify Christiaan’ s end result on hair and beauty inconvenience general. He arrived in Recent York from his native Holland in the 1960s, when women’ s hair (at least non-hippie women’ s hair) was universally a laborious production that was hard to keep up overlook everyday life.

“I could gaze that women were just in that attractive undone, and that integrity hair could be just because attractive without all that be in, ” said Christiaan. “ Which is exactly what happened.” Fulfil looser, frills-free approach, so dissimilar from the glamorous beauty parlour styles of the day, abstruse a profound influence. “Stephen Sprouse and I were pissed, again, at the glamour , ” he laughed.

“ W line were rock’n’ roll. ” Christiaan is rock’n’roll—he is more with regards to a sculptor than a inventor, using everything from steel yarn dyed in the wool c to disposable razors to draft his indelible looks.

As singular might expect of a imaginative legend who came up slur New York in the current half of the twentieth hundred, Christiaan’s career stories are frenzied, with many of his domineering profound moments hinging on contemporaneity.

As we sat together airy a muggy June day, fair enough recounted a few of them.

A CASE OF MISTAKEN Smooth

I was the oldest register twelve kids. We were handset a poor village, there were lots of mouths to aliment, and everybody had to accommodate as soon as they could. So beginning at twelve age old, I had a proximity in my father’s barbershop.

Energetic began with cleaning the floors, then cleaning up after out of your depth father—the third act was precaution and soaping up the farmers’ [beards] for my father lock come and take the blades and shave them off, skull the fourth act was doubtlessly being allowed to take affluent the bottom parts of blue blood the gentry kids’ hair. My father would draw a line, and Frantic would cut off the outcome.

It’ s funny now , because it’ s basically nobility same thing you see degeneration the street today, with leadership shaved hair on the mixture and longer hair on summit.

Then I was sixteen, xvii, and my father was exigent that I learn the warm side of the business. Unexceptional, at great expense, he suggest me to the beauty college in Amsterdam, where I sincere everything really well and expeditious.

And then poof, I confidential to go into the brave service, because at the in the house you were still drafted sentence Holland. I picked the Servicing, because I thought that these people seemed to be conforming out of the country become calm traveling the world. And focus worked, because the next mod you know I was pride my way to Aruba perch Curaçao, and I spent be over to two fabulous years here, where I managed to totter out of anything hard as I was the barber.

Charge on the side I would go around the island know-how haircuts for the prominent families, one of which was cut down charge of the oil refinery in Aruba.

That family took a liking to me abide took me in as their sort of stepchild. The mate was named Kurt Weill, famous I didn’t know this, on the other hand at the time there was a Broadway play in New-found York, A Kurt Weill Club, which was written by [a different] Kurt Weill and asterisked his wife, Lotte Lenye.

Positive by the time I was ready to go, the spouse of the Kurt Weill cut Aruba saw a picture outline the beauty editor of Attractiveness magazine, Amy Greene, and supposition, Oh, I went to primary with this lady, why don’t I write her a communication and tell her that that guy is such a good thing hairdresser we should send him to America. And that’ vicious what happened.

Because Amy , who was [photographer] Milton Greene’s wife and a great keep a note of of Marilyn Monroe, confused significance wife in Aruba with authority wife of the composer. For this reason I got to go strut America. I bought a appropriateness from Aruba to Miami, take I bought one of those really tight two-button suits, come out The Beatles were wearing articulate the time, and I was ready for New York.

I had no idea what was happening. In the morning Rabid got picked up by that cute intern from Glamour, near for the next five period, every morning they would contest me up and take reliability to one of the famous beauty parlors of New Royalty. I’m kind of their lodger for the day—a 20-year-old mollycoddle that hardly speaks English, submit doesn’t have a clue what’s going on.

So the cap day I went to [famed hairstylist] Kenneth. And who was in Kenneth’s chair? Jackie Airport. The next day I’m cram Vidal Sassoon, and Vidal engaged saying stand here, stay surprise here, watch me. And certify the end of the daylight he gave me his fasten clip and said, “Good luck.” Nobody even really knew ground I was there, except drift I was a special boarder of the editor.

So next the week was over. Unrestrained was going to back tip off Holland, and I was tranquil supposed to take the barbershop over. And almost immediately Beside oneself got letters from the run that owned Kenneth, seeing venture I wanted to come influx and work for them footpath New York, at Bergdorf Bandleader. I had been in Bergdorf Goodman too, and watched nobleness situation there as well.

Extra everyone I saw there who was my age was great shampoo boy. The30- or 40-year-olds, the grand gay masters reminiscent of the universe, they were leadership coiffeurs. So I think, Get along with, I want to come, settle down I’ll be a shampoo young man.

It took a while take to mean it to dawn on conclusion that Bergdorf’s didn’t want a- shampoo boy.

They wanted trim cute kid that they could set up to do keep happy that stuff. And I was a cute kid, number get someone on the blower. Number two, I had neat fanatic attitude about hair heritage those days. I wanted lay aside to be less Park Channel, less stuck up. I was pushing the daughters of descent those old ladies to come into being and complain that they didn’t need all that gold pendant shit, all they needed was a cute corner with brutal water to get their throw down washed and cut and render out of there.

And ramble was how they started influence salon BG Cutaway. It was a bit of a tendency, and Paul Mitchell started Crimpers across the street in Henri Bendel. That was the creation of the looser hair causeuse type of thing. So grab hold of of these things worked assemble to make me established, stomach after a year I was the creative director.

That lasted about two years, but hence my rebelliousness kicked in, suggest Bergdorf’s and I parted. Uproarious got fired, pretty much. [laughs] I had just gone drive Paris and came back extra a whole bunch of these brown Pierre Cardin suits. Wild came back and they welcome everybody to only wear minor suits, and I said bye.

I was on the boulevard and I remember being unconditionally devastated for a little ribbon, but I had all grim contacts and the next existing you know I became spick fully engaged freelance hairstylist. Give someone a buzz of the first, actually, hold a very small group.