Style: The mane attraction

Jul 10 2008 by Laura Davis, Liverpool Daily Post

Phil Gallagher, Voodou's art director _320

Voodou’s artistic director is bringing his experience of the world’s catwalks to the city centre salon. Laura Davis reports

"KATE MOSS is lovely,” shares Phil Gallagher, answering the question that every woman who recently got a fringe or is planning her festival wardrobe along the lines of the supermodel’s Glastonbury 2005 ensemble wants to ask.

“A lot of the models I have worked with are really down to earth, but some of those who have a bad reputation have one for a reason.”

Come on, dish the dirt!

“Naomi Campbell,” reveals Phil, Liverpool hair salon Voodou’s newest acquisition.

“I was doing her hair for a show at London Fashion Week, and she just didn’t turn up. We waited for three hours and the show had to be put back.

“It was upsetting for the people involved because they had booked her to get the publicity for their designs, but by the time she showed up all the press had moved on to another show.”

The 33-year-old, who as Voodou’s art director has a brief of building the salon’s creative team, has also worked with supermodel Linda Evangelista, newcomer Lily Cole and rock royalty Kelly Osbourne, as well as styling hair for fashion shoots in magazines like Elle and Glamour.

He has also worked on The Clothes Show, Sky One’s Project Catwalk and Britain’s Next Top Model with Lisa Snowdon but, thankfully he says, he wasn’t the one who had to chop off the contestants’ hair during the infamous model make-over episodes.

“Too many tears – they all cry when they get their hair cut and I wouldn’t have wanted to have done that.

“Doing Britain’s Next Top Model was quite pressured because we were trying to look after 12 models and TV is all about deadlines.

“A lot of the time, they hadn’t had any experience of doing photo-shoots, so we would give them some direction as well as do their hair.”

Phil realised he wanted to become a hairdresser at the age of 13 so, in 1991, at the age of 16, he left school to train at college in Middlesex, close to where he grew up.

He worked for Toni & Guy for nine years, starting as an assistant and working his way up to the post of artistic director by the age of 21.

After a six-month career break to go travelling, he joined Clipso, a company based in North London with a strong artistic team.

A year later, he was chosen to join the Fame Team of Great Britain, a group of stylists selected annually for a fellowship that aims to promote a new generation of bright young hairdressers.

“It was great because I got to work with industry idols and to travel all around the world for shows,” explains Phil, who was then head-hunted to become international artistic director of Headmasters, which was how he became involved in TV work, as well as teaching for L’Oreal at locations across the globe.