Advertisement

Top award for WA hairdresser

Michael O'Dowd with models Dana Scacchia and Sheridan New. Picture: Iain Gillespie.

Michael O’Dowd is celebrating being named the top hairdresser in WA and the Northern Territory at the Australian Hair Fashion Awards.

Since opening his Claremont salon O’Dowd Christie with his wife Clare in 2012, he has styled runway and campaign looks for local labels including ae’lkemi, Zhivago, One Fell Swoop and Bruug and primped the hair of models including Sheridan New and Dana Scacchia from Chadwick’s Perth.

The Irish-born hairdresser has also had success on an international level, directing shows in London, but said winning the award had been a surreal experience.

“(Running) any small business is quite hard, whether its clothes, cafes, it’s a big undertaking and a gamble, and when you have those awards it tells you you’re going in the right direction,” O’Dowd toldAAA .

The award comes as O’Dowd and his wife are eight weeks out from expecting their first child together.

“Clare’s doing amazing,” he said. “We’ve forced her out the door, but we haven’t done a very good job. She keeps sneaking back in to blow-dry her clients in the morning.”

O’Dowd expects their new child will resist entering the hairdressing profession.

“The one thing with kids, they love to buck what their parents do,” he said.

“My seven-year-old son hates his hair being done or styled. But you haven’t had a proper childhood unless your mother forced you into a haircut and corduroy.”

In keeping with the saying that good news comes in threes, O’Dowd has also been asked to direct the Australian hair world’s night of nights.

“I’ll be one of three creative directors working on the closing night for Hair Expo on the weekend of June 6,” he said. “The three of us will break down sections of the show.

“It’s extra special to do something in front of your peers.”