Any pride I had felt about successfully navigating Tokyo's
notoriously tricky subway system vanishes the second I step out of the
Harajuku station. I turn my map over and over yet again, but there's no
denying it—I'm lost. My destination is Shima Salon, a minimalist,
warehouselike space beloved by both the Tokyo supercool and
beauty-industry elite everywhere. At world-hair-trend shows, Shima
presentations regularly sweep top honors; I've been angling for my shot
at a Shima Salon snip ever since I first learned of the place at the
Wella TrendVision hair show in Madrid last year. "If someone wants to
make a major hair statement, they go to Shima," says my L.A.-based
friend Crystal, who got her first Shima cut during Tokyo Fashion Week
and now flies back for trims.
I'm scheduled to see Yuki Kannou, their lead stylist, who is renowned for his ability to meticulously shape strands into the Perfect Cut—the kind of cut that is worth a trip from the U.S. to Tokyo. With my iPhone to the rescue, I make it to Shima without a second to spare. Sporting a T-shirt and a flat-brimmed hat (is this Tokyo or Bushwick?), Kannou greets me, and we take a seat for the consultation. I completely trust this man—after all, his last name literally translates to "God ability"—but the language barrier does add an element of risk to putting my head in his hands. I grab my hair's bottom four inches, pointing to my collarbone to indicate the sacrificial length.
I know what you're thinking: You flew 6,735 miles just for a "clavicut"? Indeed. Midlength hair may not be as classically sexy as princess length or as edgy and chic as a cropped cut, but it's the style's very in-between-ness—the is-it-long-or-short aspect—that appeals to me. Having experimented with both chin-grazing bobs and down-the-back lengths, I'm ready to chop—but not too much. "Collarbone is the new hair length," says Tommy Buckett, a hairstylist at NYC's Serge Normant at John Frieda Salon. "It's fresh, user-friendly, and superversatile. You get the feel and flexibility of long hair without the extra length and weight." The look is also a favorite of editorial and runway stylist Luigi Murenu—and he is not a man to trifle with ho-hum styles, having worked with Madonna, Kate, and Scarlett. "It's much cooler than really long or really short hair, which are usually styled one way," Murenu says. "Medium length allows for play and imagination."
I'm scheduled to see Yuki Kannou, their lead stylist, who is renowned for his ability to meticulously shape strands into the Perfect Cut—the kind of cut that is worth a trip from the U.S. to Tokyo. With my iPhone to the rescue, I make it to Shima without a second to spare. Sporting a T-shirt and a flat-brimmed hat (is this Tokyo or Bushwick?), Kannou greets me, and we take a seat for the consultation. I completely trust this man—after all, his last name literally translates to "God ability"—but the language barrier does add an element of risk to putting my head in his hands. I grab my hair's bottom four inches, pointing to my collarbone to indicate the sacrificial length.
I know what you're thinking: You flew 6,735 miles just for a "clavicut"? Indeed. Midlength hair may not be as classically sexy as princess length or as edgy and chic as a cropped cut, but it's the style's very in-between-ness—the is-it-long-or-short aspect—that appeals to me. Having experimented with both chin-grazing bobs and down-the-back lengths, I'm ready to chop—but not too much. "Collarbone is the new hair length," says Tommy Buckett, a hairstylist at NYC's Serge Normant at John Frieda Salon. "It's fresh, user-friendly, and superversatile. You get the feel and flexibility of long hair without the extra length and weight." The look is also a favorite of editorial and runway stylist Luigi Murenu—and he is not a man to trifle with ho-hum styles, having worked with Madonna, Kate, and Scarlett. "It's much cooler than really long or really short hair, which are usually styled one way," Murenu says. "Medium length allows for play and imagination."
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