A quick-fire Q&A with session stylist Adam Garland

Talking desert island essentials, his signature style and much more, hear from Authentic Beauty Concept global creative advocate Adam Garland

In between delivering an incredible workshop on key trends from the catwalks of London Fashion Week A/W23, we caught up with Adam at the Authentic Beauty Concept Global Community Gathering to get the inside scoop on his desert island essentials, signature style and much more!

Creative HEAD: Hi Adam! Kicking things off, what does authentic mean to you?
Adam Garland:  It’s really about accepting who you are and not being afraid to embrace your imperfections. It allows you to celebrate life in general. I’ve overcome many things over the last ten years, and being part of Authentic Beauty Concept and the movement has supported me on my journey through my recovery and accepting who I am today. 

CH: If you were stuck on a desert island, what one Authentic Beauty Concept product would you want with you?
AG: It’s got to be the Enhancing Water. That beautiful, fresh mist is really light and refreshing! 

CH: What’s one of your favourite ingredients from the Authentic Beauty Concept products?
AG: It’s the guar bean. We’ve been part of Guar Sustainable Initiative since 2017 – it allows women in India to grow the bean in a sustainable way and generate income for the family, supporting them and not being dependent on the men.  

Adam with fellow Authentic Beauty Concept advocates at Global Community Gathering

CH: Having worked on so many wonderful shoots and shows, what you consider to be your signature style?
AG: That’s a really tricky one. I love hair to have a realness to it – I like to find the character. The first thing I say to other hair artists is ‘who are we trying to create? Who is our character? Who are we bringing out within our model or client?’ I think for me it’s about embracing a character and looking at the person. 

CH: For London Fashion Week A/W 23 you led the hair teams for multiple shows, but did you have a favourite?
AG: Yuhan Wang was a ‘pinch me’ moment. I’ve developed my career over numerous years as an assistant, but this was the first time I felt like I stood up, owned it, and was supported by my team as well as international advocates with Authentic Beauty Concept. In the most humble of ways, I nailed it! 

CH: What’s one of the biggest trends or key takeaways from the season?
AG: Exploring different ways of working with hair accessories – it’s something we did on the ASAI show. We used some of his ‘hot wok’ fabric to create the ‘hot wok’ hair wrap. It was inspired by the Gwen Stefani video and we attached fabric to the hair, leaving out a panel of hair,  which gave us a section we were able to push over. It gave the models a tough, rude girl look. Get your hair accessories out, but think about how you can push them in a different direction. 

CH: What would your advice be for anyone looking to start session styling?
AG: If you’re also running a column in the salon at the same time, it’s going to take a lot of commitment. It’s going to eat into your time and you’re probably going to have to invest a lot of money. The benefit is if you do put in the time and find a love for this art form, then the rewards are endless. You get to travel the world, work with amazing talented people. On the shiny side of it, you get to work with top models or pop stars and celebrities. There is a community within the session world and if you’ve come from a salon, you’re already going to have the basics but you’ll learn so much more, so it combines everything. As a 40-year-old, I’ve celebrated this career exploding over the last 15 years, but I had 15 years previous in hair! 

CH: On set or on location?
AG: On set! You’ve got a lot more control of the hair. Going on location is exciting but it can be tiring, especially when you’re an assistant carrying two or three kit bags. You do get to see the world though, and see some amazing cultures and cities. Being on set, you have the ultimate control of the hair and can position or create things. I feel I have a lot more freedom in the studio. 

CH: What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt in the session world?
AG: Calm down, release the ego and be a sponge. Go into a room and absorb everything. Add every skill you can to your bag – you can learn from everybody. When you go onto a Guido show, you’re not just going to learn from Guido. You’re going to learn from 10 to 15 amazing hairdressers who work on his team. Just be open minded and don’t be in a rush. 

Get more advice on breaking into the world of session styling from Adam’s assistant and It List finalist, Miles Twist >