1.In 2000 I walked away from Los Angeles,my career and everyone I knew because of drug addiction
2.In 2005 I kicked a 30 year Heroin habit
3.In 2005 I kicked a 20 year Methadone habit
4.In 2005 I saw my friend Billy B for the fist time since 1999 while I was in detox
5.In 2006 when I got out of rehab Billy introduced me to Patrica Field
6.In 2006 my first job in 6 years was doing Miss Field's for the Academy Awards
7.In 2007 I started getting work again but my Ma was becoming pretty sick
8.In 2008 I moved my Ma home from California to Mississippi.She had not lived there since 1951 and I had not seen my family since 1986
8.In 2008 I went to Billys hometown of Aberdeen,Mississippi.I fell in love with a house and my Ma bought it for me.
10.On March 7th 2009 my sweet Ma Ellie Jay passed away
12.In 2009 Billy and I open our Salon in Aberdeen
13.In 2009 I did this Q&A with Katy.It will tell you a little about me.
14.Now its 2011.I've fallen in love with and am living and working full time in Mississippi and travel wherever I need to for freelance work.I have a life full of family and friends that I never dreamed of and Im as happy as I ever remember being.
The talented Mr. Syd Curry has glammed up the locks of a crew of amazing ladies, including Cindy Crawford, Patricia Field, Tina Turner, and Mariah Carey. This Fall, Syd teamed up with Katy Rodriguez for her Spring 09 look book and presentation to create a gorgeous modern riff on Frida Kahlo’s ornate braids.
In January, Syd plans to open his first salon in a small town in Mississippi that’s just round the corner from Elvis’ homestead. With haircuts starting at $50, we think it’s definitely worth the plane tic!
This week, we did a little Q & A with Syd to get the dish on Cindy, the “Heidi Lopez,” and being Mariah’s Santa sidekick…
The hair in Katy’s Spring 09 presentation at the Lautner house was amazing. What was the inspiration? What was your vision?
Katy, Frida Kahlo, and the website Indigenous Women were my cast of inspirations.
For both the show and look book, I braided fabric from the materials of Katy’s collection into the hairpieces and shredded the ends. During the look book shoot, I dubbed the model Natalia “Heidi Lopez” and gave her a Swiss/Spanish look.
For the Spring 09 presentation, the hair evolved into more of a Frida Kahlo meets Hazy Fantazy kind of thing. It was great fun.
They are two completely different worlds. With fashion, it’s almost always a collaboration between hair, makeup, wardrobe, and the photographer. Either the clothes inspire a story or a story inspires the look.
When you’re working for a celebrity sometimes you get lucky and work with someone who has a strong sense of style, but more often than not you’re at the mercy of the publicists, studios, etc. It has become a not very creative way to work, as everyone is so worried about being on somebody’s “worst” list. All these so-called “Fashion Critics” have taken the fun out of everything.
I had the pleasure of doing Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Day Lewis for his Oscar win last year. They got ripped apart, but at least they were being themselves whether anyone liked it or not.
In the nineties, I loved doing Cindy Crawford for her show “House of Style” and the MTV Awards (which were still good then). We would interview all the bands for the show. Cindy was great because she knew how much I loved music and she would let me run off to watch everyone play.
Working with Tina Turner recently was a really big deal for me. She was my first music idol, I used to hitchhike to see her when I was 14 – 15 years old. Let’s just say I was a bit obsessed! It was great being able to tell her what a huge part her music played in my life.
Who are you mainly working with now?
For the last year, I’ve been working with Patricia Field and it’s been amazing. Everything’s bigger than life with Pat.
Rock and roll has influenced everything in my life. When somebody mentions a beehive I don’t think of Amy Winehouse, I think of the Ronettes. When someone says Platinum blond, I don’t think of Jean Harlow, I think of Debbie Harry.
Music really has everything to do with the looks I create. For instance, when we were getting the girls ready for Katy’s show, we played lots of old Bowie. Music puts me in my element and keeps me from over-thinking things.
My salon is in Aberdeen, Mississippi, which is about 45 minutes from Tupelo, the birthplace of Elvis Presley. I was born and raised in Los Angeles but my whole family is from Mississippi. Last year I went back with my best friend, the makeup artist Billy B., for the first time since 1986. Billy took me to his hometown of Aberdeen for Thanksgiving and I fell in love with it. I fought the whole “Southern” thing my entire life, now I can’t get enough of it.
One day we decided it would be a fun idea to convert one of Billy’s Victorian houses into a Flagship store for him and a Salon for me. Our shop, the “Syd Curry Salon and Billy B Beauty” opens on Jan. 6th. I’ll be there one week a month.
I worked with Mariah for about four years. Her first arena tour ended at Madison Square Garden with a Christmas show. She pointed out the suit in the dressing room and said “Put this on, you’re gonna be Santa.” It was really fun…until they turned the house lights on and I could see all the people!
You have personally sported many looks, from glam to new romantic to goth – which look do you feel the most attached to?
Glam Rock for sure. I discovered David Bowie and Rodney Bingenheimer’s English Disco when I was a teenager. Once I heard the music and saw the clothes all the kids were wearing, I was a goner. It was truly the first time in my life I fit in somewhere.
The satin suits from Granny Takes a Trip and the platform shoes from Fred Slatten were heaven to me. Those days were special: it was the Sunset Strip at its best and my biggest worry was if I had enough sequins to sew on my jeans!
Pretty people dressing up and great music…you kind of can’t ask for more than that when you’re a kid!
