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Oribe Canales at a backstage event in Las Vegas. (Tomas Muscionico)
SOUTH BEACH, Fla.—There are hairdressers who define a decade’s style. From back in the 1960s, America had Jackie Kennedy’s hairdresser Kenneth, a tall, handsome man with a wonderful personality whom I had the pleasure of meeting many times. Ara Gallant was one of the most artistic and creative photographic hairstylists who did work for Vogue, Interview, and W. Another hairdresser I remember from the movies from the 1930s to the ’70s was Sydney Guilaroff, who styled the tresses of many a Hollywood personality.
Today, the “It” stylist is the Cuban-American born Oribe Canales (pronounced OR-bay), a distinguished and renowned celebrity hairstylist, lauded as one of the top hairdressers of the 21st century, according to designers and editors worldwide. His combination of salon, celebrity, and session work spans more than three decades and has helped define fashion over the course of a career of remarkable longevity and scope.
“Hair was always a first for me from my youth,” says Oribe. “After beauty school, I started my career at Garren in New York and learned a lot from those early years. My influence as I grew and understood hair was from Alexandre from Paris, famed for the hair he did for Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor, and Audrey Hepburn.”
He also credits “the most amazing photographers, models, makeup artists, and stylists” for their collaboration and inspiration. Among them are photographers Irving Penn, Helmut Newton, Richard Avedon, Annie Leibovitz, Herb Ritts, Francesco Scavullo, Horst, Craig McDean, and Steven Klein; creative directors Fabien Baron and Keesha Keeble; makeup artists François Nars, Pat McGrath, Kevyn Aucoin, and Stephane Marais; and fashion designers such as Gianni Versace, Karl Lagerfeld, and Dolce & Gabbana.
With his rise in the 1980s, Oribe became known for delivering not only big beautiful hair that dazzled in photographs but also for making his models look feminine. His vast expertise enabled him to style long, straight, short, and curly hair, with reference to any time frame.
“My source of inspiration changes depending on what I am working on,” he says.
One of Oribe's signature coifs. (Tomas Muscionico)
“On photo shoots, the clothing plays a big part in the direction we’ll go with the hair. For a haircut, it is the person and capturing their individuality that greatly influences the style.”
In the ’90s, Oribe traveled with his team, designing hair for the top models and stars of the day, from Beverly Johnson, Christy Turlington, Heidi Klum, Naomi Campbell, and Linda Evangelista to Gwyneth Paltrow and Celine Dion.
In fact, it was Diana Ross who showed Oribe how to really secure a wig. And of course, one can’t leave out Jennifer Lopez, with whom Oribe has worked since her first album cover.
His editorial and campaign work has been seen on the covers and pages of Vogue, Elle, Allure, InStyle, W, V, Harper’s Bazaar, GQ, and Vanity Fair. His work also includes many major fashion shows.
Asked what he would have done differently in his career, Oribe says, “I would have taken a business course at night—a must for the youth of today.” Perhaps that would have merely enhanced his already successful launch of hair care products, aptly named Oribe.
In 2008, Oribe assembled the ultimate beauty dream team to help bring his vision for a product collection to life. Together with Daniel Kaner and Tevya Finger, formerly partners at Bumble & Bumble and both veterans of the professional salon scene, they envisioned a luxury brand that would capture the attention of both hairdressers and discerning consumers alike.
The old-world craftsmanship and cutting-edge innovation is only the start of the brand that is growing exponentially. Focusing primarily on the professional channel, the brand has grown to a distribution base of over 1,000 Marquee salons, as well as some of the finest specialty stores, including Bergdorf Goodman and Barneys.
Most recently, Oribe Hair Care has announced a strategic partnership with Wella Professionals Color, a division of Procter & Gamble, to create an integrative approach to education available to their member salons. Oribe has hosted sold-out artist ateliers, master classes, and large-format “backstage” events in Miami, New York, and Las Vegas.This newly formed alliance will blend each company’s skills to give their collective audiences a broader offering, comprising Wella’s color expertise and Oribe’s strong styling heritage, a stylish match and a new beginning that will likely take Oribe into his next Orbit.
Harold Leighton has worked in the beauty industry for decades in both Europe and the United States. He can be reached at hleighton@bellsouth.net.
