Love it: Hair by Sam Knight Easy Up-do

The name Sam McKnight is pretty much synonymous with great hair. Be it retro-tastic disco curls, effortlessly tousled beach hair, elegantly sleek ponies, top knots or sharp as a knife bobs, chances are he’s done it all – and superbly. 

It is said that the super stylist’s signature “done, undone” look owes much to his early days working at groundbreaking London salon Molton Brown in the late seventies. “They taught us to work with our hands and not to rely on hair dryers, tongs and tools,” says the Scottish-born stylist, whose big editorial break came with his first cover for British Vogue in 1977. “It’s something I’ve carried with me ever since.” At 24, he went freelance and went on to make beauty history with collaborations and covers that have been deemed iconic and rule breaking in turn. He was even Princess Diana’s most trusted hairstylist in the nineties, and was responsible for the cropped pixie style that became one of that era’s most iconic looks. He worked with the princess for seven years, helping her prepare for public appearances, charity events, even humanitarian missions. “I was incredibly privileged to be part of her world,” he told W magazine.

“Sam’s work has a special sensual expression,” says Karl Lagerfeld in the foreword of Hair By Sam McKnight, a dazzling and comprehensive career anthology of McKnight’s work since the very beginning. Published in 2016, it also formed the basis of a spectacular retrospective at Somerset House that same year. “As a photographer and as a designer you feel more gifted if he is around,” Lagerfeld wrote.

Now the man who has worked with a bevy of supers like Kate, Cindy, Gigi, Bella and Adwoa can lend us all a little of his signature style in the form of Hair By Sam McKnight, a must-have capsule collection of four essential hairsprays that help busy girls on the go achieve the same finesse he creates so effortlessly behind the scenes. And lucky for us it’s available at your local MECCA and online at www.meccabeauty.co.nz, so wherever you are you can have a little McKnight in your day (or night).

When it came to creating his own collection of simple, clever hair care solutions, McKnight says he wanted it to be “ easy to use, lightweight and ‘brushoutable’,” so it’s easy to use backstage and at home. I’ve been lucky enough to be able to play with his Easy Up-do of late, which was used at Fendi during couture and is great for backcombing and giving hair extra grip. Affectionately referred to as ‘hair grips in a can’ by McKnight himself, the spray makes it easy to style and hold everything from braids and buns to fancypants chignons, all while giving locks an enviable movement and texture. Perfect for use during the upcoming party season, the texturising hairspray is also a delight to be around as it’s lightly scented with fresh, botanical green leaf, herbs, watery flowers and pepper, against a backdrop of frankincense, cedar and juniper wood. Too delicious, and it works a charm! At $55.00 it’s not cheap, but a little goes a long way and hey, you can’t put a price on having a little McKnight in your life, can you?

Next on my ‘must try list’ is Cool Girl, a very light texturiser that the stylist uses on Kate Moss to “mess her hair up a little bit,” and Lazy Girl, a dry shampoo that gives some volume and hold as well. If you haven’t tried this line then I highly recommend that you do.