MEETING WITH YUSEFF SMYTH, DOWNTOWN NY IMAGE-MAKER

“I was inspired by the Velvet Underground culture of New York and the European Runways. In the '80s, I styled Punks on St Mark st and stirred it up with Reggae aestheticism. My salon work in hairdressing spans from Madison Ave, Vidal Sassoon to John Sahag.

I am an image maker. I work with everybody’s personal style and I try to embellish it. People rely on me to help them, to be the hands that transform them into where they need to be.

Humble Begining

It all began while I was working myself through undergrad, seeking a degree in pre-law. I was totally independent and wasn’t receiving financial support from my parents. Working my way through college, I was looking for a backup plan to support my education and lifestyle.

Also, there was a conflict in beliefs inside of me. Going into Law seemed conservative and too conforming to my free spirit. I had a hunger for the "Bohemian life", I saw in novels or films. Love for Life and true expression of one's soul. "Fashion" was the door that I opened and it set my soul free.

At the age of 19, I was walking in the street and I saw a hairdresser in a window designing wigs. He was like this maestro making these beautiful shapes, transforming this block of hair into something really special. I was mesmerized watching this.

So I did some research about hairdressing and top stylists and I thought “wouldn’t it be great to work on rock stars”. It was an addiction. To me, fashion was always an addiction.

Fashion is Thrilling

I was a trendy kid who enjoyed listening to different Rock groups, people like David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, Bob Marley… They were my heroes, wearing really cool clothing. It was something that caught my attention and I think that when you find something that speaks to your inner self, it is meant for you to explore it.

Hairdressing got me into that scene

I wanted to go to Madison Avenue first and then to places like London, Paris, Stockholm, Milan… And it happened. It creates some special relationships. I did a two-year apprenticeship with Vidal Sassoon, and John Atchison, then André Matheleur took me as a stylist. He gave me the opportunity to further my repertoire by mastering make-up and hair coloring. I wasn’t allowed to use natural colors. At this time, fashion was leading to the punk movement so he led me to that. He saw the punk movement coming and he got on board. It swept fashion to a new level.