Louis Souvestre discusses his viral MET Gala moment, finding beauty in the everyday and his Celtic obsession
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Earlier this year, FKA twigs attended the 2023 Met Gala celebrating the life and work of Karl Lagerfeld and subsequently ended up on almost all of the best-dressed and beauty look lists. Twigs took to fashion’s most anticipated red carpet wearing Maison Margiela, but it was the British singer’s chic and sleek updo with sculpted details in the shape of bows that really stole the show. The person behind the creation was 32-year-old French hair stylist Louis Souvestre, who has been blurring the line between sculpture and hair for over a decade.
Born in rural France, Souvestre did not grow up around the glitz of city life, but it was the beauty in his everyday life and encounters that pushed him to find these moments of beauty in unlikely places. “Beauty is so subjective, it’s like art. Everyone has different opinions on it but it definitely rules the world,” he says. Growing up on a farm, surrounded by cows and chickens, he and his three brothers all had short hair, but in his early childhood he became entranced with his two female cousins’ majestic, waist-length hair and started stealing combs from his mum to do hair before school. As he grew older and his fascination with hair continued, he studied hairdressing and eventually moved across the channel from France to the UK.
“I could not imagine doing anything else,” he says, reflecting on his journey after ten years since moving to London. Taking key inspirations from his Celtic roots, his work often channels opulent sculptures reminiscent of dramatic medieval up-dos. Aside from working regularly with twigs, his creations can also be seen on Simone Rocha runways and in the pages of Dazed, Numero and international editions of Vogue.
Here, we speak to the hairstylist about his journey, giving his eyebrow patch to Kate Bush, dancing with aliens and his fascination with his Celtic heritage.
How did you get into hairstyling?
Louis Souvestre: I grew up with three brothers and we all had short hair. Hairdressing and fashion were not a part of my childhood. We were all helping at the farm after school and at the weekend, but I have a strong memory from when I was three of being mesmerised seeing my two female cousins coming home with their waist-length hair. This was the moment I realised I wanted to do something relating to hair and I started stealing my mum’s combs and brushes before going to school to learn to do hair.
What are you trying to communicate through your work?
Louis Souvestre: Individuality and interpreting people’s stories into their hair.
What’s been your career highlight so far?
Louis Souvestre: The Met Gala in 2023 with FKA twigs and my participation in EAST4ukraine charity sale organised by the make-up artist Lynski.
Describe your beauty aesthetic in three words.
Louis Souvestre: Austere, poetic and fabulist.
Which fictional character do you most relate to?
Louis Souvestre: Margot from the film Queen Margot. I love the aesthetic of the whole movie.
Who is your beauty icon or favourite look of all time?
Louis Souvestre: Women from the medieval European court because most of them were plugging their foreheads and had beautiful headdresses that make them look austere and majestic. Also the French ballet dancer Sylvie Guillem.
What is your current obsession?
Louis Souvestre: My current obsession at the moment is the birth of Celtic civilisation, as I am myself from a Celtic background. I got obsessed with digging into my roots and those people who found bravery in having long hair and fighting completely naked. My other obsession is trance music. I ordered a bunch of trance music compilations from the 1990s on eBay, it’s the best playlist for wigs.
What does beauty mean to you?
Louis Souvestre: Beauty is so subjective, it’s like art. Everyone has different opinions on it but it definitely rules the world.
When do you feel most beautiful?
Louis Souvestre: Definitely surrounded by other creatives or doing the splits when I am in the empty studios at the gym.
Are you optimistic about the future?
Louis Souvestre: Yes, you have to be. There is much more to discover: new technologies, new things to combine, new generations, new faces and new talents. I get bored really easily, so I’m always looking forward to future projects.
What is the future of beauty?
Louis Souvestre: Hopefully a nice and healthy balance between technology and natural talent.
You have to donate a feature or limb of your body to an icon of yours. You get nothing in return. What do you give and who do you give it to?
Louis Souvestre: My shitty patchy eyebrow to Kate Bush because she would make them look ethereal.
Which part of your brain would you outsource next and why?
Louis Souvestre: My prefrontal cortex so I could go back to my animalistic nature.
You encounter a hostile alien race and sound is their only mechanism for communication. What song would you play to them to inspire them to spare you and the rest of the human race?
Louis Souvestre: Probably “Haste to the Wedding” by The Corrs because I would love to imagine myself dancing naked around a maypole only lit by a campfire with the aliens.