John Nollet
Hair stylist and photographer
Works regularly in New York City (goes back and forth 5 to 6 times a year).
Would like to set up a luxury cabin in a plane to allow women to redo their hair and makeup before deplaning.
- Paris
- Tips
John Nollet’s
Stimulating & elegant New York
For you, going to New York City, means… happiness. I love going there and on average I go every two months. Sometimes I even go every two weeks. Paris and New York go well together. I feel good when I live in both.
What is your best recollection of New York City? I had the chance of flying there on the Concorde and I will never forget the feeling that I experienced the first time I arrived in New York two hours before flying out of Paris.
What excites you about New York City? Its unique energy. It’s a difficult city for families, but the business areas I deal with there is a very good energy, something positive, stimulating.
What annoys you about New York City? Not finding a cab in one minute! Waiving your hand and seeing a yellow cab stop before you is a fantasy popularized by the movies and TV series, etc.
What is the best time of day for you in New York City? The morning usually: the time zone difference makes me get up earlier than usual which means I get to do what I never do in Paris – walk in the as-yet empty streets, watch the sun rise on these almost empty avenues and wander in Soho just as it begins to wake up.
Do you have a ritual that is intimately related to the city? There is always a time when I like going for tea or for lunch to Dean & DeLuca. It’s one of the first places that I discovered in New York City, but I still like to go back there.
What is the difference between the Parisian and the New Yorker in you? I am a died-in-the-wool Parisian, but I’m a Parisian because I have the opportunity of going often to New York City. For me, the two things are related. In Paris there are places that look like New York and vice versa. That is surely why I easily feel at home. What is more, I always stay in the same Soho hotel which has become practically a home away from home.
What is your New York City support system? More than anything it is related to Soho, where I have settled, and where I have some bearings such as certain shops, places that I’m fond of, etc.
Who are the paryorkers that you know? People from the fashion and movie worlds in general. One of the campaigns I worked took place in a very unusual atmosphere made up of paryorkers. It was for the bags of a prestigious brand with Vanessa Paradis as photographed by Karl Lagerfeld. We were all there in New York sharing that good energy, etc. I have an excellent memory of it.
What is your New York City dream? Finding little coffee shops with tables that are practically in the street. Sometimes I miss that. But on the other hand, I don’t want New York to turn into Paris and vice versa. It’s the cultural difference that I like. That’s already a dream in and of itself.
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