Jerome Lordet made his way to New York from his native Paris as a teenager in 1983 after training with Frédéric Fekkai and other French hair luminaries. He became a fixture at the swanky Pierre Michel Salon on the Upper East Side for more than a quarter century.
This year, he opened a namesake salon in the same neighborhood, where he continues to cater to high-profile clients like Martin Short and the Broadway actress Orfeh. The salon is closed on Sundays, but Mr. Lordet, 58, sometimes makes exceptions for longtime clients. He will also occasionally do house calls; Christie Brinkley has summoned him to her place in the Hamptons.
Mr. Lordet lives in the East Village with his girlfriend, Ariel Lopez, a colorist at Rita Hazan Salon. Every other weekend, his 16-year-old daughter, Zoe, is with them. Rounding out the household is Ziggy, a hairless Sphynx cat.
“I know they look weird,” Mr. Lordet said, referring to his cat, “but I’m tired of having hair everywhere.”
SPECIAL TREAT I like to get up not too late, but also not too early, maybe around 8:30. If my daughter is home she really doesn’t want to get up, so I’ll go with my girlfriend to a little French bakery, Le Fournil, and get croissants and pain au chocolat. Little things like that. It’s special for me — usually everything is freshly baked and coming out of the oven still warm, a nice thing. We bring all that stuff home and make coffee and orange juice and sit at the table.
SOMETHING FRENCH We’ll take a walk on First Street. There’s a side street where there’s a wall of graffiti, and I love to take pictures of my daughter there. Sometimes we walk to the flea market. I like looking at antique stuff. It gives me a little fun and a little inspiration, and there’s always something new. Sometimes I see something I really have to have. I’ve bought a bunch of old Louis Vuitton bags there for my girlfriend. They’re very cool looking.
After that, depending on the time, we’ll sometimes have brunch in the West Village. There’s a restaurant I like called Bobo, a little French place, and another one called Tartine. That’s also a little French place. You can’t really get French food that many places. I’ll keep it simple and have eggs benedict and a little mimosa. I don’t want to eat too much.
SCOOT If I have appointments, I try to schedule them after brunch — that way I can spend time with my girlfriend and my daughter. I have one of those little scooter things. That’s how I get around. It takes me 15 or 20 minutes to get to the salon. I’m very careful, but sometimes, yes, I feel it’s a little bit dangerous. On Sundays, it’s not as bad as during the week because there’s less traffic.
EYEING THE SPACE I like having people come to the salon if they can, because everything is set up there. I don’t mind going on a Sunday. It doesn’t feel like I’m going to work, because work for me is a pleasure. Sometimes I come even if there’s nobody in the salon because it’s the only time I can walk around and say, what can I make better in this place? How can I make it prettier?
CHITCHAT We always have a little consultation before a haircut, even if it’s a client I’ve been doing for hundreds of years, like Orfeh. I’ll kind of know what she wants, but it always starts like, what are we going to do? We’ll chitchat during the appointment, but not the whole time because I like to focus on what I do. I’ll give her a beautiful haircut and a blow-dry, make her feel great and look great.
FOR ANYONE I just started a new shampoo and conditioner line called Love is in the Hair by Jerome Lordet. What I wanted to do is make a shampoo and conditioner that everyone can use, meaning any type of hair. If you have fine hair, you don’t need to use as much. If you have thick hair or oily hair maybe a little more. That’s for the person to find out herself.
An appointment with me takes 30 or 40 minutes. During the week I book every 30 minutes. I can do 10 or 15 a day, which feels about right. After 15 it feels like a lot. I can book months in advance, but I also can have an opening tomorrow. People know they can’t book at the last minute. My haircuts are $250 for anybody.
GO WITH THE FLOW If I have a second appointment on a Sunday and it’s not at the salon, I’ll take my stuff and head there. I need the basic stuff: scissors, combs, brush, hair dryer, cutting cape. If they want to put their hair up, that requires pins and stuff. I could also bring a flat iron or maybe a curling iron. I try to bring everything. I put it in a backpack and get on the scooter.
If it’s at an apartment or a hotel room, the person washes their hair in the shower before I get there. I adjust myself and go with the situation. If the light is not good, I’ll say let’s move by the window. If the chair isn’t the right height, I’ll say let’s get another chair, or let’s put a pillow under you. I work with what’s available — you have to be flexible when it’s a house call.
QUALITY TIME Usually my girlfriend does the grocery shopping and we’ll do a nice little dinner at home. She’s a great cook. She makes lasagna, she makes meatballs or fish and vegetables. Simple things. Sometimes we may go somewhere but I like being at home.
After dinner, we like to play games, like the card game Phase 10 or what’s it called — Yahtzee. Or we’ll watch a show. I’ve been waiting for “House of the Dragon” to be done because I don’t like watching a show when you have to wait every week.
STYLES TO SLEEP ON I go to bed at 11:30 or 12, and when I go to bed I’m tired. We do a lot of walking, but I think walking is nice — I like seeing what’s happening on the street, taking pictures, looking at people. Sometimes I see things and I’m like, oh, that’s kind of a cool style or a cool haircut. It gets in my head, and I feel like maybe I can try it on somebody. It gives me some inspiration, the real-life streets of New York. I’m also on my feet all day when I work, but it’s not a problem. If I sit too long in a chair, my butt hurts.
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