With a career spanning over two decades, hairstylist Malcolm Edwards has played a transformative role within the images of photography’s renowned. With a penchant for bold, voluminous looks, Edwards began his journey in the beauty industry amidst the stark backdrop of 1980s Scotland. Inspired by the dynamic scenes of The Blitz Kids and the legendary work of Helmut Newton, he set his sights on becoming a hairstylist for photographers. His ambition led him from local salons to the prestigious world of London fashion, where he had a fortuitous opportunity to assist hair legend, Guido Palau. During his tenure with Guido, Edwards honed his craft, working on illustrious shows for designers like Helmut Lang and Calvin Klein, and gaining invaluable insights into the fashion industry. Thanks to key connections to Katy England and Alister Mackie, Edwards’ breakthrough came working with Dazed and Confused magazine, and his career flourished as he formed a lasting collaboration with photographic greats like Tim Walker. Creating a distinct visual style marked by textured, voluminous hair designs on muses like Kate Moss, Stella Tennant and Kristen McMenamy, Edwards’ work has always been infused with a defiantly cheeky, twist. Models.com spoke to Edwards on London’s influence on his aesthetic, how a late ADHD diagnosis changed his perspective on work/life balance, and the importance of being prepared to put in the hard work.
How did you first start in beauty and what was your general interest?
It was quite bleak in the 80s in Scotland, where I lived in the suburbs and I got into looking at magazines, and that was my escapism. I was really tall for my age, and at 11, I was 6’2″. I was always doing stuff with my hair and clothes, which did not go down well at all where I was in my hometown. I was quite happy being a misfit. When I looked at magazines, it was a really colorful time with the Blitz Kids and everything going on in London. Looking at classics like Helmut Newton, I started seeing how hair was a key ingredient in photography and how it created characters. That’s when I decided that I wanted to do hair for photographers. I had no idea how to do that, but it was the carrot that really got me into the whole process.
Did you ever assist?
I worked in the local salon that I used to model for in the suburbs, and then I moved to Glasgow and worked for a cool salon there. Then I started working with L’Oreal and there was a big thing called the Color Trophy. We won that one year, and I used to do all the hair for everybody for competitions. The girl who was our L’Oreal rep moved to London to work for Toni & Guy and the first person I assisted was Guido, who at the time, was selling his credits to Toni & Guy. I had no idea about the whole affiliation sort of thing. I really loved [working with him] because he was all about texture. Since he started, he made a noise, and then there was the whole David Sims connection, so he became more prolific. I took a night train, I got an interview with Toni & Guy, and said, “You guys are great, but I really want to work with Guido. That’s the thing. That’s why I’m coming to London.” To be fair, ignorance was bliss. If I’d understood how the whole machine of fashion worked, I doubt I would’ve had the boldness to do what I did. I assisted him for a couple of years, and it was all Helmut Lang, Calvin Klein, and doing all those big caliber shows with supermodels all the time.
Did London influence your hair aesthetic in any way, or are you looking towards other things as a foundation?
I was looking at The Blitz Kids, The Face and i-D Magazine, I already felt connected with London anyway. I felt more connected to what I was seeing in these magazines than where I was. I think London being multicultural was something that I really loved. When I was working with such a huge company, there were people from all over the world. Working with Guido, he would take me out to town or take me to Paris or New York, whatever, whenever he needed me. In my time assisting, that’s when I got to understand how the business worked – the whole having an agent and understanding the dynamics on set. I basically kept my mouth shut and my eyes and ears open.
Do you recall your first big breakthrough moment?
There were people like Katy England, who used to work with Lee McQueen, and there was another, her sidekick, Alister Mackie, who I knew from Glasgow. I used to do his shows for the art school fashion show when he was doing his degree. I met Katy through him and through Guido, and then I used to work on the McQueen shows as an assistant. I was at the right place at the right time. Dazed and Confused had started up, and Katy was involved, so I started to work with them.
When it comes to collaborative contemporaries, who have you connected with throughout the years?
The key thing is everyone’s communication. The person I’ve collaborated most with is Tim [Walker], and my best memories are with him because he has a circle of people, and it’s a very family vibe. We all understand each other’s process and the collective process. I feel really blessed to have worked with Tim for so long. To meet people like Shona Heath, who’s such a beautiful, talented soul and her team are amazing. When it comes to something like Tim’s World, the set designers bring so much to that. So I don’t just call up Tim and say, “What are we doing?” I call up Shona and say, “Where are we at? What kind of scale are we talking?” Tim works really well under that gentleness in collaborative energy. Some people have to torture themselves to justify they earned it, and if it’s not hard work, then it’s not good.
You’ve created hair looks that take up space with volume and texture. What inspires you to go in this bold direction, and is it something you’re naturally drawn towards?
Sometimes people say to me, “Oh, your work’s so distinctive.” And I’m like, “Is it?” In my process, it just is what it is. I even had an assistant who once worked with me on a Tim story that came from a very classic salon. It was with Stella Tennant and we were making these big pompadours on acid kind of thing. I was spray-painting and made all these gossamer, slightly transparent things so it was big, but was quite frail. Then I put a big roll at the front of it, and he’s like, “Why do you do that? It made me really laugh because he was really offended. I love a little Malcolm twist in things.
Do you have any muses? Or someone you constantly look to as far as inspiration or somebody you stick to?
I can remember the first day I met Kate Moss. It was at a Helmut Lang trial for the show and she was so beautiful. She was a tiny wee thing, had a little flat shoe, a knee-length skirt and a black sweater. But in front of a camera, my God, she’s a phenomenon. That’s also another thing that I really loved is you work with all these powerhouses, these beautiful women, but you’ve got to make them feel good. They’re still human and they’re still vulnerable. They have good days, they have bad days, and you’re working so close to them, which goes back to what you are in the salon; you’ve got to make somebody feel good.
I really loved Stella. I’ll never forget that we were shooting up in Northumberland, in this amazingly ancient rhododendron garden that was passed down through generations and generations. It was a beautiful house we used to stay at a really good friend of Tim’s. Stella was scampering up those trees like a squirrel with one leg hanging on just to get a shot. She always laughed because she couldn’t dance and was like, “Oh God, I’ve got not an inch of rhythm.” Yet, there was something in her awkwardness with her movement that brought such an amazing spirit to the photograph. The other person I really loved was probably Kristen McMenamy. She is just a powerful spirit and so present in a picture. She’ll do anything to get a photograph.
You’ve openly spoken about your own experience with ADHD and having a late diagnosis. How have your priorities changed and what life lessons has it instilled, especially when it comes to work/life balance?
During lockdown, it was like you were go, go, go, one day and then the world stopped. My juggernaut of life and mental health caught up with me. I found out I had ADHD, which was huge. I thought, Jesus, I’m 55 and now it’s like somebody’s put a switch on. I never knew I was different. I just always felt misunderstood as to why things needed to be so hard. If I got upset or disappointed in something, I would get very visceral about it, and that could intimidate my team or someone on set. It was quite a sad time for me to sit with that and realize that it had impacted my relationships a lot throughout my life. I think kindness is as important as being aware of a work-life balance. The thing I love about my job is the places I’ve been to, the times I’ve been to magical locations, when back in the day before digital, you’d be waiting for sunrise. But also the people that I’ve met. Everybody’s looking at the illusion we’re creating and we’re behind the curtain, getting to see all these people in close proximity.
What advice would you give aspiring hair stylists looking to break into the industry and develop their own unique style?
You have to understand that there are different pressures and skill sets. You never stop learning. If you have the opportunity to do things for your passion, you have to be humble enough to do that. You have to be hungry and want to do it. The reality is we’re living in a very expensive world and things are crazy. While I managed by the skin of my teeth and striving to do what I wanted, it’s a lot harder now. Generally, I think there’s less hunger or willingness to do that. Just because you love someone’s work, should you be making yourself available to work constantly for free, per se? I would say to people to try and sustain themselves in whatever way they can to make themselves available to gain experience. Try and be open. Work with as many people as they can because they’re going to pick up different things. Everybody has different ways of doing things, and you never stop learning, either. You never stop learning. On the timescale of shoots, be open and understand that a shoot’s finished when it’s finished. There’s joy that you can get from it and the positive things, and there’s also other things that seem really bizarre. You’ve got to be willing to put in the graft.
