Kieron Fowles went from experimenting on his family to leading the way in one of the UK’s largest hairdressing empires. We catch up with the talented young Brummie

Hairdressing doesn’t get the recognition it deserves as an art form. Not in the same way as say sculpting or painting – perhaps because of its temporary nature, perhaps snobbery – but for young creative director Kieron Fowles it’s in the same ball park. At 27, Kieron has been given the huge role of creative director at the Regis group, the largest owner and operator of hair and beauty salons in the UK. A creative directorship is usually the domain of 40-somethings with decades of experience under their belt, but the brand has entrusted the talented young Brummie with steering the direction of its salons and being an ambassador and spokesperson. “It’s very flattering and a role I didn’t think would come along for another few years at least,” said Kieron.

VIVIENNE WESTWOOD

Having worked at Toni and Guy for 10 years working his way up to art director, Kieron enjoyed many stints at London Fashion Week for the likes of Vivienne Westwood and Giles Deacon along with high-end editorial shoots and competitions, so leaving was odd but thrilling too. “I’m excited about pushing boundaries and this was such a brilliant opportunity,” he said. Kieron’s role encompasses three brands under the Regis umbrella – Regis, Supercuts and Express Hair & Beauty by Regis, all of which are subject to his creative vision. He’s responsible for developing the artistic teams, driving trends, creating new collections, representing the brand on the fashion stage and generally being the creative voice of the company in the UK and beyond. His love of hairdressing began as a child when he started to show a creative flare early on. “I’ve always been into detail and texture. I used to mix my mum’s nail varnish together to create different colours and loved the glossiness of it. I was fascinated with making things,” he added, “We had a lot of girls in the family and I started to turn the visions in my head into reality, replicating the texture and shapes into hair and I guess that’s where it started.” Kieron’s never short of inspiration as a grown-up either. “I draw on so many different areas… music and fashion or even a quirky print. Celebs are a fail-safe source of ideas too. I love Evan Rachel Wood’s edgy bob. The unexpected under cut is a winner.”

MR NICE GUY

Stereotypical maybe, but we wondered if hairdressing’s a bitchy world to be involved in particularly given Kieron seems utterly lovely? “Ha! There are some big egos and there’s a fair amount of competition, but I don’t get involved in that. I go by the motto ‘you’re never too good to learn’ which has stood me in good stead so far.” Since his appointment in April, Kieron hasn’t stood still. He’s just shot his entry for the British Hairdressing Awards in the Midlands category, completed a new collection shoot for Regis which launches this month, attended the LC:M (London Collections: Men) shoot in London which is a styling session for fashion and beauty journalists in between catwalk shows and will feature on specialist trade magazine HJi’s stand at the Salon International exhibition at the end of the year. Chatting to Kieron you get the impression that this is his dream gig and his Instagram account depicts a life of shoots and fashion shows full of glamour and creativity. One of Kieron’s recent posts is a Steve Martin quote ‘be so good they can’t ignore you’ which seems fairly apt. While Kieron would be unlikely to shout about how good he is, it’s obvious to those in the know