Fashion in Leeds: British Hairdresser of the Year and his journey from Barnsley to London’s Brompton Road (and back again)
“I never thought when I first started hairdressing in a salon in Barnsley that I’d end up on Brompton Road at Harrods,” said Andrew Barton, creative director for Harrod’s Urban Retreat, one of the world’s biggest hair and beauty destinations, employing 300 people.
The career of this Barnsley native has been a whirlwind. He is best-known for his TV makeover show 10 Years Younger, but Barton also has a consulting business for hair-related clients, a signature haircare range at Asda, and will soon be launching his exhibition Beehives, Bobs and BlowDries in Barnsley, before it goes on to London and the rest of the world over the next few years.
Though London has been home for Andrew for the past 20 years, Yorkshire still holds a special place for him, which has led him to get involved in the Fashion in Leeds initiative for Leeds International Festival on 22 to 29 April.
Andrew spoke to TheBusinessDesk.com in the lead up to the launch of the Festival later this month. He said: “It’s a love-hate relationship with London. I’m very proud of my Northern roots and where I come from. I grew up on a council estate in Barnsley, and though London is home, Barnsley is still very deeply ingrained in who I am.
“Barnsley is going through big makeover at the moment,” he said, and Barton is helping with that transition as a patron of Yorkshire, promoting the region for everything from tourism to skills and apprenticeships, as well as debuting his exhibition Beehives, Bobs and BlowDries at the Barnsley Civic.
“In essence, it charts cultural and iconic references hair and hairdressing over the past 50 years, showcasing the front cover magazine shots and walking through these different decades from 1950s to now.”
He teamed up with an academic, who he had gone to school with in Barnsley for the exhibition.
“Around that I’m planning a whole week of different activity in and around Barnsley including a charity fundraising ball we’re hosting at the Civic, and a fashion show, bringing local fashion designers together to show what they do.”
But it’s not just Barnsley that is getting attention from the British Hairdresser of the Year. He, along with 10 Years Younger co-star Ruby Hammer will be joining forces once again for a live make-over for two competition winners at the Leeds International Festival on 28 April.
“The festival celebrates local business and enterprise, and as a city, there’s a lot of choice and fantastic brands in Leeds. It’s a very different city to when I grew up and that’s what the festival’s doing, showcasing that enterprise.
“It’s interesting, we’re coming up to Yorkshire and we’re going to Chatsworth House in Derbyshire and the Barbara Hepworth museum in Wakefield, as well as the wartime fashion exhibition at Barnsley Civic, lot of fashion historically did start in our regions. It’s where the cloth came from and where the mills and tailors were. Leeds is definitely a fashion capital.”
