Matt Benns is the hairstylist shapeshifting your favourite icons

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“Hair is storytelling, it holds identity, it’s transformative, it’s energy and narrative. This is why I do it,” says Matt Benns, the New Zealand-raised, New York-based hairstylist known for morphing your favourite stars into elevated, alternate versions of themselves.

Benns’ journey began far from fashion capitals, in the small, beauty-obsessed communities of New Zealand. “I was always drawn to hair,” he says, recalling how he experimented on friends and watched his mum and godmother get ready. After starting as a salon trainee straight out of high school, Benns eventually moved to New York, where he trained under the renowned hairstylist Jawara Wauchope. That mentorship helped shape the approach he’s known for today – a signature aesthetic he describes as “intentional, obsessive, textured,

Community is something Benns has carved out space for in his work, expressing a deep love for the collaborative nature of his craft. “I don’t think there are many industries that allow you to be as collaborative, to work in so many different fields,” he tells us. “I love contributing to the ecosystem of pop culture.”

Benn’s work not only contributes, but shapes, pop culture. From working with Nadia Lee Cohen and giving Kim Kardashian a buzzcut, to bleaching Ecco2k bright blonde and creating looks for Charli xcx’s famed Brat and Sweat tours, his fingerprints are all over some of the most era-defining moments in beauty today. Below, he talks to Dazed about his beauty icons, current obsessions and career highlights.

What’s your earliest beauty‑related memory? 

Matt Benns: Watching my mom get ready as a child, I remember so vividly the smell of her make-up and hairspray. My mom was obsessed with the two Tinas (Tina Turner and Tina Arena), so she’d always play them. I was always fascinated by this clash of two cultures.

My mom grew up in Thailand, but she was living in the Cook Islands and New Zealand with my father. In New Zealand, there was a great community of women who supported each other; they were all so beauty-obsessed and took pride in the way they looked, blending tradition and modernity. I loved being around it.

What’s been your career highlight so far?

Matt Benns: I think it was working with Nadia Lee Cohen and Kim Kardashian. We decided to give Kim this buzzed, cropped hair moment. I was so nervous to make one of the most beautiful women on the planet so raw and exposed like that. I loved that she was so into playing this character. I loved that no one really knew who it was at first, because we had never seen her like that. Another highlight has been the Brat era with Charli xcx, the Sweat tour – it’s been a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I feel so lucky to have played a tiny part in this cultural moment.

Which fictional character do you most relate to?

Matt Benns: Edward Scissorhands. He’s misunderstood, sweet, melodramatic and self-indulgent with jealous tendencies like me (I’m a Scorpio). It’s one of my favourite films. 

Who’s your beauty icon? 

Matt Benns: That’s so hard, I think Angelina Jolie in the 90s. I like how understated but bold she is. There’s something so distinctly her, and I love that. Her short, cropped hair and fucked twisted up-dos are some of my favourite beauty moments. I also recently watched a documentary about Anita Pallenberg. She’s fab.

What’s your current obsession?

Matt Benns: Right now, being by the ocean, sunblock, Virgin by Lorde and watermelon.

When do you feel most beautiful? 

Matt Benns: Showering after a day at the beach, where you’ve been swimming in the ocean with friends. It’s that feeling of washing off the salt, and your skin is all warm and tanned from the sun, maybe a little red in the cheeks, hair is messy. Cocktail ready.

Are you optimistic about the future?

Matt Benns: I have to be, for everyone around me that I love and myself. It’s tough right now, and we are all going through it in many different ways. I can only be hopeful, spread joy and beauty, show love and be supportive. Seeing communities come together for the greater cause, to see shifts in culture, gives me hope. 

You’ve opted to be cryogenically frozen in hopes of continuing the human race. When you’re awoken, it’ll be your responsibility to kick-start the breeding. How will you wear your hair on your first date?

Matt Benns: Since this is the future, and I haven’t really been one to do much with my own hair in the present day, I would colour it like David Bowie, blonde through the panel and this orange-red through the back, and comb it back. Ugh, it’s so cool. 

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?  

Matt Benns: ”Edge of Seventeen” by Stevie Nicks. It’s such a dramatic song, and if they decide to destroy us at least we get to hear it one last time. I imagine it with the wind gushing, loud, dusty at dusk. Or maybe ”Heroes“ by David Bowie – that choice would most likely save us. 

What’s the future of beauty?

Matt Benns: Less trend-focused, I want to see us be more experimental.