“Half businessman, half artist.” That’s how Christo describes himself. To his clients, though, he’s all charm.
“Christo rocks!” one long-time client blurted out with a smile on a recent wintry day at Christo Fifth Avenue Salon in New York. She is one of a dozen curly clients Christo will style, cut, or color on any given day. Working nonstop for hours on his feet is far from easy, but Christo makes it seem as welcoming as a tropical breeze.
So, how does he do it?
To find out, I spent a day shadowing the curl expert. Despite his veteran status, he not only continues to take clients, but also runs his salon with a crew of ten stylists, manages his own product lines (with new ones in the works), and designs one-of-a-kind, lavishly upscale (read: $300 to $4,800) cuff links.
Christo is somewhat of a walking showcase for his jeweled baubles (and for the latest fashions) and he wouldn’t have it any other way. During my visit, he wore a custom-made Italian designer suit, Ferragamo belt, and perfectly polished Bruno Magli shoes.
“My wardrobe is fierce,” he acknowledges. “I like to wear designers’ [clothing] and I’m a designer.”
In fact, outside the salon, Christo often collaborates with fashion designers to create hairstyles for the Fashion Week runways. He also takes private bookings for celebrities and the political elite. (Whew! Just rattling off his list of to-dos seems exhausting.) Before noon on this biting cold Friday in early December, Christo has already gently ushered a few clients in and out of his chair.
He effortlessly flits from brief chats with his marketing executive (“Do you need me?” she asks) back to his chair (“If you have time we should do a Deep Therapy Masque,” he suggests to a client with dehydrated curls) to even supervising the assistants in charge of shampooing. Christo doesn’t assume assistants will choose the right shampoo and conditioner for each client. “I tell them specifically what to use,” Christo says. He monitors it all, but without too much hovering.
12:00 p.m.
With his customary kiss on each cheek (mwah-mwah!) and a hug, he welcomes in his next client with shoulder length raven curls. Within minutes, this longtime client is in his chair, chatting on her cell phone. He’s already getting started, scissors in hand. She doesn’t flinch.
“Are you going to talk to her about what she wants?” I ask.
“I already know what she wants, and sometimes I don’t let them choose,” he says with a chuckle and a smile.
In the midst of the trim, Christo’s personal assistant quietly steps in to ask him to confirm a time for his upcoming trip to Washington. (He signed on as the stylist for a few dozen celebrities arriving in the nation’s capitol for inauguration parties in honor of president-elect Barack Obama.)
He confirms and goes back to his scissors for a few more finishing snips. Then, he’s off again. “Excuse me for a second,” Christo says, as he makes his way to welcome the next curly client, a twenty-something redhead whose thick, fiery curls seem to float down her back.
With another mwah-mwah welcome, he starts to send her to the back for a wash, but she stops him to ask quietly if he can blow it straight today. “Well, that’s an extra charge,” Christo says, encouraging her to keep her curls intact. “Your curls are beautiful.” She skips the blowout.
Back to the raven-haired client. “Would you like some coffee, tea?” he asks, then sends her under the dryer.
12:50 p.m.
The fiery redhead is cleansed and seated in Christo’s chair for a trim. They chat and laugh, with the familiarity of dear friends. “You need an updated picture of your daughter,” she teases. “It’s at least six months old!”
After cleaning up the ends of her mane, she’s off to be styled and set under the dryer.
