When two friends Ivan Constable and Jean-Paul Rosette were trying to come up with a name for their salon, the name Louie seemed an obvious choice. Louis XIV after all, is the Patron Saint of hairdressers, florists and perfumers. Iggy Pop once said that his warm-up song during sound checks was a cover version of “Louie Louie” by the band The Kingsmen. Saint Louie pays homage to both icons, the saint and rock ‘n’ roll.
Nestled in Russell Place, Melbourne, with eateries such as Neopoli, Sarti and Bar Ampere and über cool gallery Pieces of Eight and 124 Shoes as neighbours, Saint Louie has carved out its own space in this unique Melbourne laneway location. The interior blends soft wood detailing with hard concrete surfaces. Every detail has been meticulously hand selected by both partners, which reflects their own ideals of a perfect creative space that their clients will enjoy.
“Although it’s an industrial concrete space, we wanted it to feel welcoming with a mix of vintage finds and bespoke raw wood furnishing. We loved the idea that raw wood can be crafted, will have natural wear and tear and a life of its own, just like hair.”
Ivan and Jean-Paul collectively have over 25 years experience in the hair industry both locally and overseas. Among their achievements, Ivan has owned a successful salon before and made his own hair care product. You can also see his handy work on photo shoots for magazines including Black, Vogue, Marie Claire, Dazed & Confused and Oyster. Jean-Paul has worked as a senior stylist in salons in London and New York, is an ongoing contributor to Gorman look book shoots, and has created looks for New York and London Fashion Weeks.
He has worked for numerous magazine editorials such as Vogue, Vanity Fair, Elle and iD magazines. Some of their better-known clients include Drew Barrymore, Selma Blair, Charlize Theron, Jessica Biel and Owen Wilson, as well as those Melbournites in the know of where to go to get a cool hair snip and chat.
Their philosophy is simple, “we would rather do real hair on real people”. I’m sure Iggy Pop would agree.
It can be said that a good colourist is worth their weight in gold; Christophe Renot our Principle Colourist is an internationally trained hairstylist with over 20 experience, Christophe does it all, Cutting, colouring event hair, educator and hair for fashion magazine including cleo magazine and shop til you drop who names him “best blow-dry in Melbourne” which has earned him a cult following here at Saint Louie Hair. Christophe is available Tuesday Thursday Friday and Saturday.