Toni & Sacha MASCOLO

by Hair's How

Join the Editor of HAIR'S HOW as she chats with a legendary father and daughter, two of the most influential personalities in hairstyling, for a glimpse at how it all happened…and keeps going strong!

Hair´s How
Toni & Guy was founded in 1963 and at that time, hairdressing was very different from what is now. What are some of the differences?

Toni
We come from a family of hairdressers. My father was a hairdresser; my mother was helping him as a hairdresser. My father´s father was a hairdresser before him. It went from father to son. Long, long ago, hairdressers were nurses also! So we came from that background. My father had three salons in Italy and he was the first person in Italy to do permanent waves, he was the first one to do things that had never been done before. So, we really started from that trend. He wanted to go further than any other hairdresser. I remember him saying he was going to Naples to the L´Oreal School doing a competition and he won the 1953 hairdressing competition. So, that´s how our company started. We came to England because he wanted to go to the center of Europe where everything was happening. It came to a point where Guy and I were doing hairdressing. They called him Guy and they called me Toni when we started. We started Toni & Guy in the West End of London. We were the first people to tint. Actually all the hair back then was yellow, and my father told me to mix a dye with peroxide and create a tint, a Swedish blonde. I was actually the first one in the world to do this — people were waiting in line for it! When my mother died, it was a turning point. Starting a business helped me focus on something different and so we started Toni & Guy. Sacha was just a small girl, chopping all her friend´s hair up!
Sacha
I started cutting hair when I was about 12!
Toni
She had no fear. When I was on Davie Street, our art directors were doing a class with some Americans and Sacha started talking to the class. We told her to come away, but the class said no! They had learned more from Sacha than all the time they had been there. That was the start of how she´s grown up to be talented and artistic.
Sacha
From my perspective, because father was a hairdresser, my mother was a hairdresser, my grandfather was a hairdresser, my three uncles are hairdressers, and my aunties are hairdressers so I was about nine years old when I learned how to do plaits and everything. I did it to my friends at school. I always loved cutting hair. So, it´s always been in my blood. When I was 16, I started to train and quickly realized how easy it was for me. But, in reference to your first question about the difference between the 60´s and now, is that when I started, we had two salons and now we have over 400! So, the scale is definitely different. I think that hairdressing in 40´s, 50´s or 60´s was about just a few hairstyles and everyone would have the same thing. Now people want their own creation to take trends and make it their own. No one wants to look the same. So when we do our collections, we give techniques of cut and color and then stylists can take that back to their salon and do it different for each client! Another difference is how we look at hairdressing. Because it´s all about catwalks, what´s happening on the street, what´s happening around the globe. It is not just what´s happening in Milan, Paris and London. It´s about what´s happening in clubs and music, too. We take all of those elements and create looks for everybody!

Hair´s How
it seemed in the past, that women went to the salon; it was more of an event.

Sacha
Everything is much more accessible now. In the past, people would save their money to go to a hairdresser and get their hair done. Now, women just want more and more and I think that with the products and education we´ve taught our clients how to achieve what they get at the hairdressers at home. So, the nicest thing about my job is that if I see someone who looks terrible when they come in, I know I can make them look fantastic. What we do is let them know we´re going to cut their hair and teach them how to get that look at home. You use this brush, blow dry like this, and use this product. That person doesn´t just feel great walking out of the salon; they feel great all the way along.

Hair´s How
You were the youngest ever to win the newcomers award. what was that like?

Toni
I´m often asked that question because I´ve done lots of interviews. I was the youngest ever to become Hairdresser of the Year and it had a lot of value to me and my future. Now, Sacha was the first woman London Hairdresser of the Year when it used to be a man´s world. Having the awards helps you build contacts for the future.
Sacha
It´s nice to win awards, but I think, like my father says, maybe 20 years ago it was a bit smaller and it was there was only one special thing. Now, there are awards here and there and it´s great, to win awards, but what´s much more exciting is creating exactly what my father said: Creating the future. When James came on board, he knew about the media. I am very good at hairdressing and creating, my dad is very good at business and James is good with the media. When it comes to products, it´s a joint venture; we each use our strengths. It´s a good combination. And so it all works perfectly.

Hair´s How
in England, quite often, the top hairdressers are men. is it difficult to be a woman in hairdressing?

Sacha
I´ve been with Toni & Guy for 20 years, with my father in the business and I was the only woman for 15 years. Now, my team is mainly women because I think women are the most creative. Men seem a little bit clumsier and not as detailed. I´ve seen talented woman hairdressers get married and have children and the ‘not-so-good´ men would rise to the top. Now I hope that I can inspire younger women on the team. They see that I can do it and still be creative and I don´t have to be at the salon or home all of the time. The most important thing for me is not full-time behind the chair every day. But in the day you´re there, you do more than what you would have done in a week. You want to be there; you´re enjoying it and loving it, so there´s a massive twist in management. A real twist in energy.

Hair´s How
Do you have anything to add to that?

Toni
I think she´s absolutely right.

Hair´s How
is it difficult to find and educate people you feel will be good? How do you keep them?

Sacha
We´re lucky as a company because I think people are drawn to us because we´re creative. We get to do a lot of things within our company — photo shoots, fashion shows and people want to be part of it. How we keep them, well, that´s how dad came up with the idea of franchising. It´s great fun traveling the world doing shows and shoots but after a while you want to have a base. Dad´s franchise idea was to give you the image, design your salon, help you with all the education so you always have good people, and you put Toni & Guy above the door. They stay because we support them and they become part of our family. Otherwise they would be our competitors!
Toni
We have the second generation, too. For example, we had a stylist in Japan, when he was a young man and his little boy is older now and works for Sasha on the Art Team. We´ve got the German franchises and the generations are now working together and it really is a family.

Hair´s How
i read that there is some sort of company separation internationally.

Toni
When we were 40 years together, at that particular time I think Anthony and Bruno wanted to do something independently in America. We were always one company, but each one did their own thing. So, there were four of us behind Toni & Guy and there the rest of the world except the USA. Guy went to America and then Anthony said we could open salons there everywhere. So, they took TIGI, our product company, global and it made sense — we made even more money. It was easier to manage distribution and manufacturing, and Toni & Guy, because they were TIGI in the United States, worked on image in the United States. Toni & Guy has been one brand like TIGI, and then we compensated by creating Essensuals and Model Me.
Sacha
Just so you know, there are no bad feelings about it. Anthony and I have worked together forever and I adore him. He´s spends a lot of time in America as well with Bruno and Guy. It´s just a different line.

Hair´s How
Toni & Guy is really creating the British style. Describe the British style and if it´s congruent with the French style.

Sacha
I think it comes from fashion actually. The truth is that fashion in Paris and Milan is much more expensive and glamorous than in London. It´s the same with the hairdressing. In England, we´re more creative and streetish. What´s happening is really individual. I always want to know more about street style than designers and runways. I want to see how people are mixing it up. London´s got this real creative element to it. The Americans, with no disrespect, would be the least sort of trained. That´s why it´s such a great market there; they don´t have what we have here in Europe. It´s a completely different system. But, in France, it´s just very different. It´s all about bridal, hair up and its beautiful hair, but not very edgy.

Hair´s How
in what country would you say that Toni & Guy is really strong?

Sacha
France, Australia, Germany, Spain, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Sweden, and Norway are really strong. And we are very, very strong globally. Everyone from any country who has worked in the UK with us has taken our brand home.

Hair´s How
can you describe your philosophy?

Sacha
It starts off with the family. Whether it´s a salon or an academy, treat it as if it´s your home, with the utmost respect. And education is the absolute foundation to everything. So, you have to have a strong foundation, so whether you are the owner, doing business education, an assistant or a stylist, you get education from our academies from beginners to classic to the advanced. Then there is the motivation of doing fashion shows and being involved. There´s isn´t really a hierarchy in our company. Instead, we lead by example. My father works in a salon. I´ll be at work at 10 o´clock at night. Everyone else sees that my father and I are leading by example. We´re all a team and we love it.
Toni
My philosophy is very similar. I can always make more money. My family is very important. What I want to achieve in my life is first to be a great Poppa — family is number one.

Hair´s How
Do you have other passions?

Sacha
My other passion is my children. I suppose I have two lives - one where I´m passionate about my work and then when I´m home, I´m passionate about my children, whether it´s painting with them or taking them for a walk.

Hair´s How
Do you think they will continue the hairdressing tradition?

Sacha
Probably not. They´re only four and two so they are still very young.

Hair´s How
what do you see as the trend for next year?

Sacha
Trends are so important. We have to research and see what´s happening on the catwalks and on the streets. Where things are moving forward. So, I could say at the moment that I like purple, but we have a professional that we send to make sure that we have the right information. As a company it´s very important.

Hair´s How
What is the first thing that you think about when you wake up in the morning?

Sacha
The first thing I always really try to do is to be completely grateful for everything I have from the smallest thing to the biggest thing.
Toni
I´m a big worrier. I want to get up and think that it´s going to be a great day, an easy day a precious day.

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