Part 2 Interview with Nina Butkovich-Budden

Originally written for The Hub Magazine. This is part 2 of my interview with Nina, part one can be found here.

One of London’s busiest hairstylists right now, Nina Butkovich-Budden took some time out of her busy schedule to talk to Jean-Paul about Mark Mitanovski’s antlers,Lady Gaga and veterinarian surgery.

Let’s talk about Nina’s Hair Parlour… how did that come about?

I was always interested in bygone eras, and through overdosing on Marlene Dietrich and Jayne Mansfield films I realized I couldn’t find a hairdresser to recreate the perfect 1930’s or 1950’s hair do. I searched high and low and nothing was available. Working as a period style consultant for the Young Vic Theatre at the time I definitely spotted a gap in the market. Around the same time the first burlesque club night opened in London. My dear friend – and owner of the famous “The Girl Can’t Help It” – Sparkle Moore started it all and following her lead several new clubs started appearing catering to vintage aficionados. At first I started working on my friends, then upcoming performers and as the circle widened more and more people searched after a fabulous vintage do! One of my ultimate inspirations was a guy who taught Vidal Sassoon his trade, hair coiffure impresario Raymond of Mayfair. He owned shops all over London in the 1950’s and I thought why not, it’s a good idea so let me follow in his footsteps!

The first Hair Parlour was set within walls of someone else’s salon in Waterloo, soon after the demand was so huge that I had to find staff and move somewhere bigger and more appropriate. I met Issidora our fabulous make-up artist, and suggested she join me on this venture and upon a friend’s suggestion we approached Alfies’ Antique Market in Marylebone, and they took a chance on us. Our top stylist Leila Mauro moved from Brussels to join us, Mark McCarthy took on the barbering and Sami Knight is our creative force. We have a superb team! We specialize in styles from 16th century until the 1980’s with a splash of avant-garde.

I love the history of our shared craft, particularly retro 1950’s hair, and the art and craft of dressing hair for both men and women. Do you think modern hairstylists are loosing touch with their roots (no pun intended)?

Absolutely! Hairdressing is a multimillion pound industry and it’s all about quantity of clients and quick turnover. I’ve previously worked as a salon manager before and it was 30 minutes per client… needless to say, I hated it! Vintage hair do’s take time to create and herein lies the experience itself… it can’t be rushed and has to be researched if you are to create something truly authentic. I am a rebel and the idea of lots of money and creating a chain is not my ultimate stimulant. I decided long ago to keep myself out of the corporate world so small, exquisite boutique style business is my aim. Quality and individuality over mass marketing and high street!

Nina’s Hair Parlour has Retro hair classes for civilians and professional hairdressers. What made you decide to do this?

Well, I thought there was no fun in having your hair done in a period style and then not knowing how to recreate it at home, so we do one- to-one classes for our clients and show them how to do three different styles. Now, they can look fantastic all the time. We still haven’t started the professional classes, we are pretty small and I am über busy so it’s very hard to organize classes at the moment. The team and I are going to sort that out very soon though!

What do you do in you spare time?

Brainstorm!!! I love what I do and cannot stop ideas pouring in, so I sketch a lot and it drives everyone mad!

In our last correspondence you mentioned you were off to Malaysia, was that for work or fun?

We were presenting Marko’s collection on STYLO (Stylo Fashion Grand Prix Kuala Lumpur 2010) in Kuala Lumpur and Issidora – my partner in crime – and I had a special appearance on their Hair Couture Show…loads of work but we had fun too.

What are you working on at the moment?

I have loads of shows planned with Marko, preparing for September’s Fashion Weeks and working on the new Stella Artois ads, Mad Men DVD launch and millions of photo shoots and editorials…. busy busy Nina!

And your plans for the future?

To do more shows and hopefully, buy a 1950’s Airstream, convert it in the hair salon and travel around States….like Nina The Queen of the Desert hahaha!

Interview with Nina Butkovich-Budden part 1.

A while back, in a previous post, I stumbled upon Nina Butkovich-Budden, a hairstylist whom I greatly admire. Her work is placed somewhere between the past and the future. I admire her so much that I decided to stalked her via various social networking sites to get an interview. This is the outcome of when you get a chance to talk to your hero. This interview is part 1 of 2.

I wrote this article for The Hub Magazine.

I discovered your work while perusing the endless photos from London Fashion Week … the hair you did for Marko Mitanoski is amazing. How did that collaboration come about?

I was in Croatia with Issidora - my partner in crime - and we were both "dying" of flu, and as one does we were in front of the TV watching FTV when all of a sudden this amazing vision appeared! It was a show Marko Mitanovski did for Belgrade Fashion Week. I was in awe of his design aesthetic and decided to find him straight away. I Googled him and found him on Facebook. I proceeded to tell him I wasn't a stalker and that we should work together. I invited him to London and asked my friend who owns a talent agency to sign him up and bring him over. He accepted the invite and within four months he was chosen for Vauxhall Fashion Scout’s "Ones to Watch’, and as they say –the rest is a history!

Marko Mitanoski’s clothes are “other-worldly”, what was the inspiration for the antlers?

Marko's clothes are something else and as a whole feel quite dark, structured and almost gothic in shape, which required equally magnificent structured hair. I was thinking along the lines of trees and branches and then one morning I woke up with an epiphany – the antlers! I began researching and my eye caught the site of an incredible Scottish deer. I suggested it to Marko and he loved it! The first prototype was a challenge. The structure was created by my friend, the sculptor, Julie Elgar, who managed to manipulate chicken wire into antlers. I used hair to make them bearable for the models to wear. They were very wobbly and heavy at first, but now we’ve fine-tuned them using a much lighter base.

I saw Lady Gaga wearing one of your antlers, how did that come about?

Oh, that’s a cool story. We got approached by the fabulous stylist Nicola Formichetti (who is the senior fashion director of Dazed & Confused magazine amongst others), who is also Lady Gaga's stylist He asked us to supply him with a couple of pieces from Marko's collection for the Q Magazine photoshoot. We took a chance and custom made a pair of antlers for Lady Gaga that we included with the costumes. Little did we know that fashion photographer Nick Knight was going to use them for the ‘Put Your Paws Up’ interlude on her Monster Tour! I have a lot of respect for Gaga wearing all the young designers’ clothes and giving them a platform for success… Formichetti is a genius at discovering all the new talent out there.

My research tells me you were born in Croatia; did you start your hair career there? And did you always have an interest in hair?

Yes, I was born and raised in Zagreb. After the war I decided I needed to change the ambience and moved to London. Over there I attended the Art school, but I got bored and decided to save the animals of the planet and enrolled to become a veterinary surgeon. Fortunately for the world of vintage hair I hated it and realized it was a bad decision, so I left.

When did you have a “hair-epiphany”, or when did you realize you wanted to become a hairdresser?

In the early 1990's I approached my friend Dorees who is the owner of a prestigious London hair salon and begged her to take me on as an apprentice. After a year of learning and numerous tantrums I was able to cut a perfect Nancy Kwan (film actress) bob created for her by Vidal Sasson in the 60's – which was my goal. Once I was able to achieve that, I was ready to hit the world of Haute Coiffure.

How did you start out in hairdressing?

Cutting hair with nail scissors.... local punks, Goths and alternatives were guinea pigs and lots of friendships ceased there hahaha!

Stay tuned for part 2 coming soon...

Special thanks to Rachael from creative-idle.

Nina Butkovich-Budden and Marko Mitanovski Spring/Summer 2010

My award given to hairstylist Nina Butkovich-Budden for the Marko Mitanoski show for best hair I have seen at London Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2010.

About Nina.

Nina Butkovich-Budden began cutting and styling with vintage and retro ideas in mind for her friends before founding Nina's Hair Parlour. She covers a wide range of styles from the Belle Epoch to the Swinging 60s. She dabbles extensively in the Avant Gardé and the theatrical nature of style as shown in her hair styling and millinary skills.
Nina has acted as a period style consultant for The Young Vic Theatre in Waterloo and created styles for the Ray Davies musical Come Dancing for the Theatre Royal in London. She has worked with a range of photographers and stylists both for print photography and international fashion shows including the Life Ball 2008 in Vienna where she worked with stylist Danilo. She helped create styles for the dancers in The Kylie Minogue Show, Kylie Minogue's relaunch on English TV Channel, ITV in 2008.

Click here to read more about Marko Mitanovski.