“We really connect with hairdressers and salon partners.”

Team Kevin.Murphy was in India, hosted by Streamline Beauty India. Kanishka Ramchandani gets an exclusive interview with Wade Blackford, Design Director -Styling, Kevin.Murphy, about the growth of the brand, its focus on sustainability and its plans for the Indian market.

Aankith Aroraa, Owner, Streamline Beauty India, and his team hosted Wade Blackford, Design Director -Styling, Kevin.Murphy Australia, as he conducted learning sessions with Indian hairdressers and interacted with members of the media at Jean Claude Biguine Salon in Mumbai. The event was attended by Samir Srivastava, CEO, Jean Claude Biguine Salons, and international hair expert Priscilla Corner amongst others.

EXCERPTS FROM THE INTERVIEW…

Tell me about your journey with Kevin.Murphy?

Quite a long journey! I have been working with Kevin now for 14 years. I am a global designer. I look after styling, cutting and colouration. I also look after testing products with Kevin Murphy and taking care of our photoshoots and other events. Now I am going around the world and meeting lovely people like you.

Do you also contribute to product development?

Yes, often Kevin would be developing and testing products while I would be considering what the packaging should look like, what the name should be, what the product should smell like.

What do you think is Kevin.Murphy’s edge over other brands?

The fact that we have Kevin Murphy who started the brand and all decisions around the products is made by hairdressers.

Tell me more about the environmental impact of the brand?

It’s something Kevin has always been keen on. We started off with square bottles instead of round ones, which reduces packaging waste considerably. We are also using products that consume less water. Our manufacturing plant has zero carbon footprint and a lot of our products have special ingredients that have minimal environmental impact.

How was your experience of the cleaning drive that you were a part of here in Mumbai?

We had a good experience. We tried to pick as much litter as possible off the beach, and one of the volunteers pointed out that it was a lot less rubbish than usual. During one of our drives in Brisbane, Australia, we had actually found stuff from Los Angeles. This made me think about what we are doing as a company and what am I doing as a person towards the environment.

How is the brand’s experience of being in the Indian market?

Aankith’s team at Streamline Beauty India is really good. Kevin is a mad man! He is determined to make everything perfect and it just goes on and on. I love that energy and I think that the business can be really big in India. Kevin. Murphy as a company is transparent and there is no miscommunication about the brand or its products. Our products are developed with leading edge technology and innovation. We know that we have products that other brands don’t and we really connect with hairdressers and salon partners here. I want to be partners with salons who have the same values as we do and I also want to partner with fashion. And this is how we can make an image in the bigger markets.

What’s the one thing that you like about Indian hairdressers?

Definitely their passion! And I love their questions as well.

Definitely their passion! And I love their questions as well.

I don’t think they are lacking in anything, honestly.

If there is one trend that you would recommend to the Indian hairdressers to follow in this bridal season, what would it be ?

We can do a lot of hairstyles with ponytails and so many hairstyles can include ponytails. Ponytail is really classy and you can do so many things with it. You can also try placing ponytails in different positions.

Can you give us a sneak peek of what we can expect from Kevin Murphy as a part of innovation?

We have got some really cool stuff coming up, which is brand new. The colour preserving line focusses on colour preservation. There is a lot more coming up but I am not in a position to talk about it now. PBHJ