Legendary hairstylist Guido Palau unpacks his Zara collab

When the make-up at the Margiela SS24 Couture show went viral a few weeks ago, it introduced the few people who weren’t already aware of Pat McGrath to her legendary work and illustrious history. Now, a new Zara venture is turning the mainstream spotlight onto her longtime collaborator, hairstylist Guido Palau.

For anyone who isn’t familiar with Palau, here is a very quick 101: after getting his break working with the Supers (Naomi, Linda, Cindy etc) on the music video for George Michael’s “Freedom 90!”, Palau was tapped by Calvin Klein to create the grunge look of the era-defining campaigns with Kate Moss and David Sims. He worked with Alexander McQueen until his death doing hair for the runway shows from the late 90s – including 2009’s Horn of Plenty collection – and now is one of the busiest hairstylists in fashion, reportedly working on average 30 shows per season including for Prada, Schiaparelli and Dior.

“I’ve always been interested in an unconventional kind of beauty,” he told Dazed back in 2021. “From the very beginning of my work, my eye’s been attracted to the quirky parts of somebody’s beauty and the way this represents who they are.”

Now Palau has teamed up with Zara on its new hair range. Having worked with the high street giant for over 20 years, it made sense that they would turn to him when it came to developing hair products. Following two-and-a-half years of work, it has finally launched with the Everyday Basics collection – an evergreen range of six key products: Blow-Dry Spray, Volumising Mousse, Dry Texturising Spray, Hair Balm, Curl Activator and the Hair Spray.

For Palau, it was important that this first batch of products be multi-use and easy to use, helping us achieve runway hairstyles at home. While he has worked with other brands before, this was the most involved he’s ever been in the creation process – from the formulas, to the packaging, to the casting of the campaign, he was involved every step of the way. He worked with Jérôme Epinette, the nose behind fragrances for brands like Off-White, Byredo and Pleasing, on the scents of the products – which Palau describes as “beautiful” – while the vivid, multi-colour packaging was designed in collaboration with Baron & Baron. Every aspect – from the products’ weight (“not too heavy but not flimsy”), to the satisfying snap of the lid, to the shape and size and shades – was considered. “I wanted it to feel stylish,” Palau tells us. “So I decided to create these objects that would sit in your bathroom and look good.”

The hair range will comprise a mainstay collection, which will continue to be added to over the next few years, as well as limited-edition drops like the gold collection which was released late last year. Rather than launching with a huge line, Palau chose to start small and then slowly bring out key ingredients and collections to grow the line. “We first wanted to start the story because, for Zara to go into hair, you have to start with slow steps, not overwhelm people, explain what you’re doing,” he says. “I think with any kind of beauty product, especially hair, people need to believe that there’s a proper story.”

In time, a texture curl range will be added to the collection as well as a haircare line. At the centre of every drop, however, will remain the same ethos – giving people at home the ability to create editorial looks by themselves, something that’s emphasised by the campaign videos which feature models doing their own hair using the products. “I always love when I see hair not being done perfectly, because I think that’s when it has its charm,” says Palau. “I’ve always been inspired by what people really do with their own hair, rather than what a hairdresser can do – they do what they are meant to do. I’ve always been inspired by what people do themselves.”

For him, the magic of hair will always be the ability it gives people to transform, whether that’s to express their true selves or to live the fantasy, if only for a moment. “It’s a possibility to change the way you want to be. Hair is so much about how we want to present ourselves to the world – what we want to give off or what we want to say about ourselves. Or pretend and have that fantasy. Hair can be a great fantasy – it doesn’t exist, one spritz of water and it’s gone, it just disappears,” he says.

“That’s what I like about it. One minute the girl can look very sophisticated or very strange, then you just wash the hair and it’s back to normal. That’s what I love about what hair can do for someone. All you need is a few hair products, and a little bit of technique… ”