By Reed V. Horth and Kat Barrow-Horth
Photography by Ryan Stone
Visitors obtain the most intimate sense of an individual by walking through his or her home. It is, both metaphorically and literally, the place the homeowner lets his or her hair down. This is true in the home of hair-care guru Leland Hirsch.
His Fort Lauderdale home exudes a freshness, eclecticism and vigor that mirror the world-renowned hair colorist himself. A collage of a life spent in discovery and innovation, travel and celebrity, work and play. “I like to interconnect different artists’ visions,” he says. “We look for what is happening in the world.”
What is happening is a reemergence of one of the leading hair colorists of the 20th century as he unveils a new product line he developed after a 10-year artistic sabbatical. His new line, Celeb Luxury, echoes much of the sentiment seen in his own life and personality: bold color, chic packaging and scientific innovation.
Born in the Bronx, New York, to a family of chemists, Hirsch had an early fascination with science. Catching the eye of Michael Mazzei, famed owner of New York’s popular NuBest Salon, Hirsch was mentored in hair care and developed the specialization in color. Fittingly, the self-proclaimed beauty school dropout does not describe himself as a hair stylist. Instead, “I don’t do finger waves,” he says with a wry smile and chuckle. “I am a colorist.”
Hirsch broke ground when he created techniques and colors that invigorated the lackluster market and attracted younger women, and a growing sub-set of fashion-conscious men. Eventually, Mazzei and Hirsch opened the color salon at NuBest with more than 30 dedicated colorists. They filled the space with natural light, letting subjects view the hair colors in real-world settings. Other salons took notice and began emulating many of the techniques. Internationally renowned hair coloring brands Redken, Clairol and L’Oreal began calling on Hirsch as their go-to color consultant, followed shortly afterward by Vogue magazine.
Hirsch’s reputation earned him the title “Godfather of hair color,” as he went on to develop the Haircolor USA conference at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach. The annual event lasted 14 years, allowing colorists from around the world to learn the newest trends, products and techniques in hair care. Working with Mazzei, Hirsch also created ARTec, a line of color-depositing shampoos and conditioners, which was eventually sold to L’Oreal. Then, having achieved everything he could imagine in his chosen field, Hirsch walked away.
His time away allowed Hirsch to indulge his artistic side at home in much the same fashion that he has in life and travel, by continually searching for trendsetters and pioneers. His world travels, most notably to Bali, China and Mali, exposed him to rare gemstones whose subtle variations of color influenced his later product line. Hirsch says the Far East “is very raw and organic,” vestiges of which crop up throughout his personal art collection, manifesting itself in often gritty images of social commentary against a backdrop of abject beauty. “I bought what I loved, though not necessarily for investment,” he says. “I’ll never sell my art.”
Hirsch’s traditional Mediterranean-style waterfront home is modernized by loud Top 40 music and colorful exuberance. A glance around provides a similar glimpse into the psyche of the hair-color visionary. Despite the variety, nothing is haphazard; a clinical study goes into each item in the home. An effortless conversationalist, Hirsch describes each work of art with a story of its origin and the passions and pragmatism behind acquiring it.
Colorful prints from the late American pop icon Andy Warhol juxtapose against black-and-white photography from American fashion photographer Diane Arbus. This discerning eye led him to choose artwork harking back to Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe and Muhammad Ali screen-prints, Peter Beard’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and contemporary Chinese painter Zhang Xiaogang communist-era motifs. Roman-era and Renaissance busts and ancient barnacle-encrusted urns pair counterintuitively with modern figural bronzes of Lynn Chadwick and Manuel Carbonell.
HEAD-TO-TOE SUCCESS: Hirsch’s love of hair color and art is equalled by his love of sneakers. His collection includes nearly 65 pairs of Christian Louboutin shoes, as well as about 10 custom-made kicks.
The collection is forward-thinking but also possesses a deep reverence for past. Hirsch passionately describes each artist as a “thought leader” and an innovator in their respective genres.
Hirsch’s 1943 watercolor Deux Femmes by Spanish master Pablo Picasso depicts an intimate and voyeuristic view into the private lives of women. His collection also includes color-filled abstract Beautiful Barbed Wire Entwining Itself In A Free Stream of Consciousness by British artist Damien Hirst, which is a departure from much of the narrative work throughout Hirsch’s collection. It is pure, unapologetic color and energy transferred to canvas.
Reclining comfortably in an oversized leather chair, legs crossed and eyes darting, Hirsch enthusiastically describes his life, his collection and how his salon-exclusive product fills a gap in the multi-billion-dollar hair-care industry. A walk through Celeb Luxury’s high-tech laboratory reminds us that it is not a 1960s neighborhood salon; this is technology, science and luxury synthesizing based on one vision of how the world of beauty should operate. Through tedious blind-testing, Hirsch developed a high-lathering formula that would maintain vibrancy in hair color ranging from natural colors, such as blonde, red and brown to the edgy trending colors found on stars such as Katy Perry: teal, hot pink and purple. “Because of the life I lead in fashion and beauty, I really dig deep into color,” Hirsh says.
Email was in its infancy when Hirsch left the business world in 2002. He returns to the new world of Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and the idea that something viral can be advantageous. Since its release in August, Celeb Luxury’s Gem Lite and Viral lines are trending topics that have made them an instant sensation online. Celeb Luxury’s Instagram is flooded with before-and-after photos of eager subjects using Hirsch’s products to either maintain or embolden their current hair color. Hirsch’s talent allows him to harness the power of new technology because it has finally caught up to his artistic vision. “That’s why I came back,” Hirsch says. “It’s about this vision. For the rest of my life I want to create my vision.”
Hirsch speaks effusively about his passions, including his philanthropic work with the American Cancer Society, Humane Society, American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association, Miami Heat Charitable Fund, Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival and more. A consummate sports enthusiast, he gushes about his adoptive home’s team, the Miami Heat. However, old habits die hard, and he sheepishly admits he is still a New York Knicks fan. Visionaries and forward-thinkers like Steve Jobs and Muhammad Ali provide inspiration. Combining New York chutzpah and South Florida ease, Hirsch continues to push the envelope between science, art and fashion through sheer force of will. And we all look better for it.
Originally appeared in the Fall 2016 Issue.
