Hairdressing icons: robert lobetta

Robert Lobetta is a true individual and one of the most creative hairdressers of his generation with more than 30 years' experience. Robert was born in Stoke Newington, London. He originally wanted to go to art college, but his father set up a job for his rebellious son in a friend's salon and from then on, Robert never looked back. He was soon cutting hair, but became frustrated at the lack of creativity, switching between various salons until he finally settled at Ricci Burn's salon in Kensington. Ricci inspired him to look at hair differently and at the age of 19, Robert was working with famous names and photographers on editorial shoots and - after a brief career break as a tennis tutor in Lanzarote - became the salon's artistic director. His next move was to Michaeljohn, where he built up his client list and continued his editorial work with his first shoot in the new role a double page hair feature in Vogue. Robert then opened two salons of his own, but made the difficult decision to close them after struggling to balance the demands of salon management and a hugely successful session career. Left with no choice but to focus on his main area of interest, editorial work won out. His days with famous photographers such as David Bailey and John Swannell, led him down a new path when film director Ridley Scott asked him to work on a film called Bladerunner. Robert turned this offer down: "I kick myself now!" he says. However, Ridley's next movie, Legend, featuring a young Tom Cruise and an array of gravity-defying hair art, opened Robert's eyes and broadened his scope even further with a view behind the camera. "Ridley had an eye for detail and he taught me to look outside the box and see things in another way," he said. With the launch of HJ's British Hairdressing Awards in 1985, Robert entered the Avant Garde category and won, but never entered again. "I was trying to get into photography, but people only knew me as a hairdresser," he explains. "Winning the award thrust me further into the limelight of the hair world and it became a constant battle to be recognised as a photographer." Robert eventually gained success as a photographer in his own right but his skill as a hairdresser was still recognised and in the same year he was appointed by Sebastian to create the company's imagery, producing hair shows, photography and videos and developing the Xtah range for the brand. With his growing interest in sculpture and artistry, his flair for photography evolved into the unique style and vision that he is known for today. In 1997, his abilities as both a creative mind and a hairdresser were put to the test when he was invited to become Sebastian's global creative director based in Los Angeles. Robert stayed with Sebastian until 2008, helping to transform the brand into an imaginative, inspirational high-fashion range. He explained his decision: "I have decided to retire from corporate life and embark on a new journey of discovery - the mindset of discovering the new is a major belief in how I function and evolve, and the quest for change is what drives me creatively." Robert's portfolio is incalculable, and in 2003 his work was recognised with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the North American Hair Association.