Within two minutes of meeting Odile Gilbert you know that: she smokes, she drinks cappuccinos ("with none of that cinnamon Americans love to add"), she speaks her mind, she is very chic (she loves an Alaïa legging), she is totally passionate about hair. Odile is one of only a handful of female stylists working at the top level of the profession. She has styled hair for nearly four decades and for every photographer, designer, and editor you could name in five minutes. Perhaps most recognizably, she styled Kirsten Dunst's hair for Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette.
In between shows during New York Fashion Week, Odile and I met for breakfast—to discuss the looks she created for SUNO and Rodarte this season, and so that I could grill her on New York nightlife in the 80s, what hair products I should be buying, and, most importantly, the human-hair top hat she made for Jean Paul Gaultier in 1996.
Photos by Matthew Kelly
Alice Newell-Hanson: You seem very calm. How many shows have you done this week?
Odile Gilbert: 11
Wow. Is that typical for you?
Yes. I love New York: it’s fun and I work with a lot of young designers. It’s a new generation!
How does it compare to Paris, where you're from?
I do five shows in Paris. I used to work a lot in Paris, but now I come here more. I lived here for 11 years in the 80s; New York is really my second city.
What made you first want to come to New York?
After I finished school in France, I worked with the famous hair stylist Bruno Pittini in Paris. He was working for theater and magazines, and I was his assistant so I learned through him. But America is always the dream, no? If you're living in Europe, especially 20 years ago, and you're working in fashion, it's just not enough. I moved here full-time in 1982 and stayed until 1993.
What kind of projects were you working on in the 80s?
I had the chance to work with Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, all these big photographers. Not at the beginning though, because it takes time. I didn't really speak English when I first arrived; I had to take lessons. I remember my first shoot with Steven Meisel, I was on the phone with him and he was saying, You have to bring ringlets. I was asking everyone, What is the ringlets? I had no idea!
What were some of your most memorable shoots from that time?
Everything was incredible because everything was new to me. To have the chance to meet and work with these people! At night I almost couldn’t sleep because I was like Oh my God! I was sharing an apartment with François Nars because I didn’t want to live by myself in New York at that time. We lived on Broome and Broadway. It was so cool.
Did you go out a lot?
Oh yes. Because you had all these nightclubs like Area and The World. And you had to have a look to go out. So we basically wore wigs and Stephen Sprouse clothes. To get into the nightclub you had to stand outside and pretend like you didn’t want to come in and then they were like, Yeah you can come in. But only if y
In between shows during New York Fashion Week, Odile and I met for breakfast—to discuss the looks she created for SUNO and Rodarte this season, and so that I could grill her on New York nightlife in the 80s, what hair products I should be buying, and, most importantly, the human-hair top hat she made for Jean Paul Gaultier in 1996.
Photos by Matthew Kelly
Alice Newell-Hanson: You seem very calm. How many shows have you done this week?
Odile Gilbert: 11
Wow. Is that typical for you?
Yes. I love New York: it’s fun and I work with a lot of young designers. It’s a new generation!
How does it compare to Paris, where you're from?
I do five shows in Paris. I used to work a lot in Paris, but now I come here more. I lived here for 11 years in the 80s; New York is really my second city.
What made you first want to come to New York?
After I finished school in France, I worked with the famous hair stylist Bruno Pittini in Paris. He was working for theater and magazines, and I was his assistant so I learned through him. But America is always the dream, no? If you're living in Europe, especially 20 years ago, and you're working in fashion, it's just not enough. I moved here full-time in 1982 and stayed until 1993.
What kind of projects were you working on in the 80s?
I had the chance to work with Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, all these big photographers. Not at the beginning though, because it takes time. I didn't really speak English when I first arrived; I had to take lessons. I remember my first shoot with Steven Meisel, I was on the phone with him and he was saying, You have to bring ringlets. I was asking everyone, What is the ringlets? I had no idea!
What were some of your most memorable shoots from that time?
Everything was incredible because everything was new to me. To have the chance to meet and work with these people! At night I almost couldn’t sleep because I was like Oh my God! I was sharing an apartment with François Nars because I didn’t want to live by myself in New York at that time. We lived on Broome and Broadway. It was so cool.
Did you go out a lot?
Oh yes. Because you had all these nightclubs like Area and The World. And you had to have a look to go out. So we basically wore wigs and Stephen Sprouse clothes. To get into the nightclub you had to stand outside and pretend like you didn’t want to come in and then they were like, Yeah you can come in. But only if y