Pauline McCabe
2018 Hair Expo WA-NT Hairdresser of the Year
- Hair: Pauline McCabe
- Salon: Rock Paper Scissors Hair Studio
- Photographer: Jeremy Choh
- Makeup artist: Janelle Han
- Stylist: Zoe Van Zanten
Q+A with Pauline
How did it feel to be named as the WA-NT Hairdresser of the Year for the second year at the awards?
It is a huge honour to be recognised for my work by our industry’s greats, and to win two years in a row was an incredible feeling.
How does winning a Hair Expo Award impact your salon/business?
After the first award, our business had huge growth. The second award allowed us to grow again, it also platformed who we are and what we do; creating incredible opportunity through sponsorship and education opportunities.
Can you tell us a little bit about how your collection came together and where the idea came from?
The idea came from the shows I had worked on during February fashion weeks in New York, London, Milan and Paris. Throughout all of the shows, there was a strong theme of honouring each model as an individual, looking at their natural texture and who they are and enhancing it. So I had in my mind a collection which was all about the Individualist, someone who goes their own way, in their own style.
I start with an idea, the word Individualist; and then start to develop the idea with drawings – who would the six girls be. There are words, drawings and images that I send through to my collaborators and then they bring their ideas and vision to the collection.
Where do you look to for inspiration for your creative projects?
I am lucky to be surrounded by incredible creatives who I collaborate with regularly, we allow each other the space to have focused play and to create freely. I love art, I have undertaken a double major in fine art so am greatly influenced by art, contemporary culture, music and I love to watch people in the street – ideas come from everywhere. Working on fashion weeks is also incredibly inspiring. I’m just returning from working with Guido Palau and Janelle Chaplin from the Original Mineral team in New York; backstage is basically the University of Hair, so I’m always bursting with ideas on return.
What’s your favourite thing about being a hairdresser?
I feel like being a hairdresser is one of the best careers in the world. It’s creative, fun, it has so many different routes you can take within the course of your career. I have been an educator, salon owner, art director, session hairdresser, worked on film projects, product development… You can travel the world, collaborate, create, inspire, motivate, learn management, marketing and business skills.
Really, you can just keep growing and learning in the field of hairdressing. For me, that’s what keeps me interested; there’s always so much more to do, to learn, and to create.
