Ben Gregory is known for his work in high end fashion photoshoots and always chooses Crazy Color. From working with brands like Paul Costello in London to jetting off to Milan to work with Burberry and Paul Hanlon. Get to know Ben Gregory with us and learn more about his work!
How did you get into working on high end fashion shows and photoshoots?
My partner Dean and I had just returned from travelling Australia and Asia, we were in our early 20’s and started to do a few clients whilst we were planning our next move, a client of Dean’s had a boyfriend who was a testing photographer. He was doing a shoot and asked us if we wanted to do the hair and we said “sure why not” from there it snowballed.
What was your first show?
My first show was in London, I think it may have been Paul Costello. I remember my first show in Milan with Burberry and Paul Hanlon.
What is your most memorable work with crazy colour to date?
It HAS to be Moschino F/W RTW 2020 in Milan. Paul Hanlon had created an amazing Marie Antoinette hair style and he and Jeremy Scott asked me to create a spectrum of colours with a pallet inspired by Macarons.
We wanted to achieve something very colourful but at the same time muted, antiqued somehow.
So all of the colours were custom mixed to complement each outfit. We mixed the custom tone in varying levels of vibrancy and applied in a way that was patchy. Some we coloured, then part bleached, then coloured again. All building the colour to give the effect that it had aged and faded but avoided being “pretty pastels” which we were seeing a lot of at the time.
It was an INSANE amount of work. The testing was weeks in the making and then in Milan there were 54 wigs, 100 packets of hair extensions and I have NO IDEA how many pots of Crazy Color! Fortunately I had two amazingly talented assistants with me, both advanced colourists at Gregory Dean Salon. Remi Sisso and Sophie Archer. I don’t think that they left the hotel room that we were prepping in for three days!!
The reaction to it was so great. That will always be a really special show for me.
What is your favourite technique?
I approach everything that I do intuitively. I adapt to each project. Every head that I work on is entirely bespoke. I live for colour correction! The more difficult and seemingly unachievable the better! There is no one size fits all when it comes to corrective colour.
Whilst the basis for great corrective colour work comes from excellent technical knowledge, I believe that you also have to make decisions that challenge the rules as you know them. A great technician, in my opinion, is confident and brave. If you know colour inside and out you can trust the basic principles of colour but apply them in different ways that will help you reach your target. I love that as colourists we can weave our own artistry and creative vision through what is otherwise a very technical process.
Do you have creative direction on what will work with each collection?
I have been fortunate enough to work with artists who I respect professionally and artistically. On these projects it is ordinarily the designer/stylist or art director who sets the tone and as a respectful group of creatives we all then collaborate to arrive at an aesthetic
How do you present your ideas/decide on your recommendations?
I have a catalogue of references. When I listen to the artist/client/designer I pick up on key things that they have said and this spins me to a reference point. I always challenge my initial ideas and try to consider an alternative approach that may be less obvious/more unexpected. Whilst taking inspiration from things that I have seen in the past I always aim to reinterpret and reimagine never simply reproduce.
What are your favourite products in the CC range?
Working on location can lead to some major anxiety about not having what i need so I always make sure that I have super vibrant primaries. If I have them then I can make whatever I need! I really love the power pigments. They are small so easy to carry around with me. They are so powerful that a little goes a long way. With those in my kit I feel so much more at ease.
Do you have any top colouring tips?
Always always ALWAYS go back to the basic principles of colour mixing. Know what happens when colours mix and trust the rules! They will NEVER do you dirty!
How do you prep for fashion week?
It really depends on the project. Some require a lot and some not so much preparation.
I was the colourist for the Gucci Cruise show in South Korea and the colour prep for that was a couple of weeks.
I always start by gathering all of my ideas and putting references to them. I then refine them into groups or sections and really put a fine point on what it is that I am doing with each wig or model.
I always know exactly what I am trying to achieve with each wig/model and do not start until I am crystal clear on what the direction is for that wig/model.
In South Korea there were a few potential directions so I coloured an enormous amount of wigs and extensions in advance to present as options. Another amazing stylist from Gregory Dean salon, Hayley Miller, came to Korea to work on the hair colour for the show with me. It is impossible to prepare for every eventuality but Hayley and I had lots of conversations before we left so that we were completely in tune and were well prepared to respond to whatever was asked of us as quickly and efficiently as possible.
For other shows it may be colouring a models hair in advance of the show or test. It isn’t unusual for me to be doing a models hair colour in a hotel room in Milan or Paris at 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning!
What do you love most about creative hair for fashion shows?
Artistic collaboration and technical execution.
I love the process of exploring possibilities and different ideas whilst deciding what the final look will be. I love the conversations with the other creatives on the project. The hairstylist, the stylist, the make-up artist, the manicurist, the designer etc. Exploring references, the nuances of particular colours and the characters/eras/worlds that they come from.
Once that creative process is finalised I love the technical process of actually achieving it. The juxtaposition of letting your imagination run free and then locking down on the technical execution satisfies both aspects of my creativity.