Dreaming

For our first beauty story, hairstylist Joey George collaborated with photographer Casanova Cabrera and stylist Jaime Kay Waxman to create a lyrical, dreamy fantasyscape starring six models adorned with his inventive hair sculptures, created as part of his artistic process. In an exclusive interview, George speaks about the genesis of "Dreaming" and his work that bridges the divide between art and beauty.

Q: What was the initial idea for this story?

JG: "Dreaming" is a collection of work focusing on documenting six characters who may live in a cross reality (the physical and/or digital worlds). The images were intended for the viewer to transcend to a daydream.

Q: Why did you pick the title "Dreaming"?

JG: The title for this collection was given by Casanova. Jaime, Cas, and I had dinner at my house over the summer. We shared books of various painters, choreographers, and artists who contributed to the development of our story. I’ve always wanted to create a hair-focused beauty story that was unlike modern beauty stories that focus on trends or styles from the past. I spoke to the team about creating otherworldly characters. I look at hair as poetry; for this very special hair story, I wanted the viewer to dream.

Q: How were the hair sculptures created?

JG: This unique collection of hair pieces was handcrafted in my art studio, located in Snug Harbor on Staten Island. These concepts were an ongoing evolution of designs for about a month, but the prototypes were developed in a little over a week’s time. Some hair sculptures were designed in the winter/spring and not introduced until this story.

Q: Did you start with a final shape in mind or work more organically?

JG: I often begin with a concept and it organically adapts to the moment, which creates its own unique identity. The hair concept was focused on otherworldly creatures and considering that our cover story was living digitally, it made sense to develop what hair could look like in the digital world.

Q: As part of a larger ongoing project, did the way you approach this story change for publication in Cero Magazine?

JG: My personal work, "Hair Studies," has been an ongoing practice throughout my career. My personal journals are tools to communicate the visions for hair concepts on advertising and editorial commissions. Most people aren't familiar with what hair could be; visuals are the best modality to communicate my ideas.

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