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CELEBRATING STEPHEN
Racoon International ’ s Creative Director , Stephen Messias , is blessed with awesome energy , enthusiasm and creativity . Here , Stephen walks us through his hugely successful hairdressing career which spans some 50-plus years .
Born in East London and raised in Peckham from the age of five , I fell into hairdressing by accident in a way . My father was a tailor – an incredible tailor actually , creative , a perfectionist and wonderful at fine detailing garments .
One of his customers , a top hairdresser at the Dumas salon in Mayfair ’ s Albemarle Street recommended hairdressing as a good career , telling me a brand new name on the scene , Vidal Sassoon , was the way forward for the future .
My mother and I , aged 14 , spent a whole day ‘ up west ’, going into salon after salon in search of a job and I was eventually taken on as a Saturday boy at André of Paris .
Later on I saw Vidal Sassoon advertising for apprentices in Hairdresser ’ s Journal . Three interviews later – I got the job , but didn ’ t know six of us were being taken on for just two apprenticeships and had to prove ourselves in a six-week period . Along with Michael Collis , founder of Molton Brown – I was one of the lucky ones .
September 1959 , 171 Bond Street – the start of my 10 year career with Vidal Sassoon . Walking into the Sassoon salon took me from a black and white world in Peckham to a life in Technicolor , a kaleidoscope world ; I ’ d never seen people like that , only in films or the theatre , it was an extraordinary experience .
Every time Vidal walked through the door , the atmosphere was totally electric . Rubbing shoulders with the likes of Leonard , Roger Thompson , Joshua Galvin , Christopher Brooker ... watching such creative geniuses at work was spellbinding . Vidal was a hell of a taskmaster with punishing standards . He simply wouldn ’ t settle for anything other than the absolute best , rejected anything that was less than perfect . He instilled in us a fervour to be the same .
You have to remember we were at the centre of the ‘ 60s revolution , in a passionate creative bubble that kept getting bigger and bigger because of our energy and enthusiasm .
We never stopped working , creating , experimenting , sharing ideas . Thinking about time didn ’ t come into it , this was a vocation , it was enthralling , like a page turner , a book you just can ’ t put down . Every day was a new chapter that unfolded , you just wanted to be there , didn ’ t want to go on holiday in case you missed something .
People today are too impatient , ‘ want it all now ’. Back then we had fire in our belly , a desire in our eyes ; we watched , listened , learned , practised , grafted and grafted with a dedication and determination to be the absolute best – no room for shortcuts . Like the footballer who stays behind to train after the match , the chef who experiments in the kitchen once the restaurant ’ s closed , we – cutters and colourists alike – carried on until all hours , including Sundays , to practise , try things out , discover new methods and techniques .
I worked in the Bond Street , Grosvenor House and New York salons , and I was lucky enough to do the hair for many stars and Hollywood legends of the time , Dionne Warwick , Ingrid Bergman and Peter Sellers included .
We also pioneered the idea of sharing our skills for the betterment of hairdressing , presenting shows and seminars across the UK and abroad – revolutionary at the time . I remember presenting a demo in Derby to a hairdressing group ; the owner , Keith Hall , was a great Sassoon fan . He was very forward in his thinking , the first out-of-London hairdresser to recognise Vidal as a forerunner , someone ahead of the game and Mr Hall wanted to bring London fashion to the Midlands . Little did I know the impact meeting Keith Hall would have on my career .
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