The man who continued trends to the top (quite literally) hairdresser turned milliner-in-demand, Katsuya Kamo died earlier this month, leaving a trail of magic to marvel for decades on. In-demand not by racing carnival-enthusiasts and wedding lime-lighters, but the likes of Junya Watanabe, the late Lagerfeld and ever brooding, Haider Ackermann.
“No conversation was needed, no words,” Ackermann told Vogue.“Silently we would work harmoniously and I would observe where his artistic sensibility would bring me, [to] a perfect balanced world of grace and insanity. [He was] the best play companion one could dream [of].”
Like all fashion hair heroes, Kamo’s career begun in a salon (rural Fukuoka, Japan) before he worked for a top stylist and, as the story goes, landed in Paris. Upon returning to Japan, Kamo met Junya Watanabe and Jun Takashi of Undercover, commencing what would become two iconic, creative partnerships. Perhaps none other than Vivienne Westwood responsible for keeping the true spirit of punk alive, so much as Watanabe, and so Kamo dreamed up and delivered: Spikes of paper, face-obscuring wigs that kissed the floor and metal studded helmuts some of the first, defining moments.
For us, these are some of his most iconic … look carefully and you will see his craft has reverberated all the way down ,to Australia. A true influencer.