Bo in a small French village to a family of farmers, Christophe Robin, owner of Autour de Christophe Robin in Paris, plowed the fields while dreaming of feathers, sequins and vibrant haircolor. Casting his yoke aside at age 14, he traveled to Paris to become a hair apprentice. Swiftly evolving from student to master, Robin assumed the role of artistic color director for the coveted John-Louis David salon franchise. And, at age 24, when most young men were still trying to decide who they wanted to be in life, Robin opened Autour de Christophe Robin where he and other like-minded beauty pros spearheaded the resurgence of haircolor in Paris.
Q: You decided to become a colorist when you were 14 years old, a time when this occupation wasn’t as popular as it is now. What made you decide to choose this career?
A: Very early in my career, I was lucky enough to work as a session artist for ads, doing color and styling top supermodels like Linda Evangelista, Kate Moss and Claudia Schiffer. They started speaking about me and I became famous—or well-known, to be exact.
Q: In 1995, you opened your first salon in Paris that specialized in color-ing. This is a rare occurence even by today’s standards, not to mention 20 years ago. What motivated you to do this?
A: Back then, salons that offered color had a coloring room in the basement or some-where in the back area where it was hidden from view. The lighting was artificial and color was treated as an afterthought. What awful condi-tions! I finally decided to open a salon that would only specialize in color. Thus, my first salon was set up to celebrate this wonderful art that makes women so beautiful.
Q: In 1999 you created your eponymous line of products. What was your motivation?
A: Initially, I did it for my personal use, because I couldn’t find the right products that I needed for my salon. Then, I decided to sell them to the public. The line originally consisted of six basic products, which are still in great demand. As far augmenting the line, it isn’t necessary. Less is more!
Q: Today, a lot of attention is paid to formal hairdressing education. How do you feel about this?A: I’m from a village of 160 people. My de-sire to become a hairdresser was first and foremost, a way to slip away from there. I was very lucky to meet a woman who taught me everything without any assis-tance from academies. Today, even though formal education plays a huge role in our industry, I believe that hands-on leaing in a salon is still more valuable. At our busi-ness, we have an apprentice program that has produced many wonderful colorists.
Q: Do you hire young and inexperienced talent?A: I choose my team without any regard for established rules. What is most important is that they have a strong desire to lea and succeed. Even if I have no jobs available, I still accept intes. I teach my staff that it’s very important to pay special attention to our trainees to ensure that they lea hair-color techniques, and not just wash floors. In my salon, everybody plays an important part, no matter what they do.
Q: Has Parisian hairdressing changed much since you first started in the pro-fessional beauty industry? A: Today, everything is much more compli-cated. Haute couture fashion doesn’t exist any longer. This has negatively influenced Paris, its spirit and atmosphere. Fashion is no longer so cheerful. Even the movie com-munity has lost much of its sparkle. Before, quality was the most important thing. Now, everything is measured against the bot-tom line. The beauty community has been impacted by all of these things. We dream less now and work much harder.
Q: Has it become more difficult to run business?A: My salon has existed for a long time; I’m thankful that I’ve managed to be in busi-ness for so long. In France, we have a better chance of longevity than in American where a salon is wildly popular for two or three years and then everyone moves on to the next hottest shop.
Q: You’ve been working as a L’Oréal Paris creative consultant for coloring since 2004. In that time, you’ve taught haircolor all over the world. Do women’s color preferences differ in various parts of the world?
A: There is a huge difference between countries and cultures. The color schemes depend largely on the traditions, religions and ethnic characteristics of nations. This variety makes my job very interesting, because it gives me endless opportunities to lea more about my craft.
Q: Your salon is located on the first floor of the palatial l’Hôtel Meurice in the yeart of Paris, and yet, it’s so cozy and personable. How did you accomplish this?
A: I wanted to create a comfortable atmosphere, that shielded my clients—at least for a little while—from all the noise and crowds. I also wanted to create a space where every artist at my studio could fully concentrate on their art, without fighting the distractions of a fast-paced city right outside our door. The salon area is rather large—about eighty square meters—yet still retains the feeling of being in a warm, closed space. It should be noted that the salon interior is the fruit of our collective labor: the basic concept was mine, while the photo design throughout the salon was done by Marianne Haas.
Comments (0) 
Print this Article
Email to Friend
