Garren is an American hairstylist. He has worked in the fashion industry since the 1970s.

Early life

Garren was born in

Niagara Falls, New York Niagara Falls is a City (New York), city in Niagara County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a total population of 48,671. It is adjacent to the Niagara River, across from the city of Niagar ...

, in 1949. As a teenager, he became interested in fashion and hair after being exposed to ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...

'' and ''

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' (stylized as ''Harper's BAZAAR'') is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. Bazaar has been published in New York City since November 2, 1867, originally as a weekly publication entitled ''Harper's Bazar''."Corporat ...

''. He began his career working out of his parents' basement doing the hair of his mother's friends. His guidance counselor at La Salle High School opposed his decision to be a hairdresser, but his family supported him. At age 16, he attended night school and then worked for his brother's salon.

Career

Garren moved to New York City in 1975 where he worked in the hair salon at

Bergdorf Goodman Bergdorf Goodman Inc. is an American luxury department store based in New York City, founded in 1899 by Herman Bergdorf. , it operates a women's store and a men's store across the street from each other on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. ...

. He received his big break when he was offered a chance to style

Christie Brinkley Christie Lee Brinkley (née Hudson; born February 2, 1954) is an American model. Brinkley appeared on an unprecedented three consecutive covers of ''Sports Illustrated'' Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, Swimsuit Issues in 1979, 1980, and 1981 ...

's hair for a ''Vogue'' shoot. He also recut and straightened

Farrah Fawcett Farrah Fawcett (born Ferrah Leni Fawcett; February 2, 1947 – June 25, 2009) was an American actress. A four-time Primetime Emmy Award nominee and six-time Golden Globe Award nominee, Fawcett rose to international fame when she played a ...

's hair from its famous feathered look, and styled Brooke Shields in her 1981 Calvin Klein ads. In 1982, Garren moved to the Glemby Salon in the

Plaza Hotel The Plaza Hotel (also known as The Plaza) is a luxury hotel and condominium apartment building in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is located on the western side of Grand Army Plaza, after which it is named, just west of Fifth Avenue, ...

where he was responsible for creating

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

's Marilyn Monroe-inspired hairstyle. In the early 1990s, he began to work extensively with

Anna Sui Anna Sui (; born August 4, 1955) is an American fashion designer. Her brand categories include several fashion lines, footwear, cosmetics, Perfume, fragrances, eyewear, jewelry, Fashion accessory, accessories and home goods. Sui was named one ...

, styling her runway shows. In 1991, he opened up his own salon, Garren New York, in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. He cut

Kristen McMenamy Kristen McMenamy (born December 13, 1964) is an American model known for her unconventional, androgynous appearance. Originally a long-haired redhead, she reinvented her look in the early 1990s by having her hair cut short and dyed black, and he ...

's long red hair short, which he then dyed black. He gave a pixie haircut to

Lucie de la Falaise Lucie de la Falaise (born 19 February 1973) is a Welsh-born French design consultant, former model, and socialite. Early life Lucie le Bailly de la Falaise was born in Wales in 1973, and grew up on a sheep farm. She is the younger of two childr ...

in 1992, and a mod-inspired bob to

Linda Evangelista Linda Evangelista (born May 10, 1965) is a Canadian fashion model. She is regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential models of all time, and has been featured on over 700 magazine covers. Evangelista is primarily known for being t ...

in 1995. In 1998, he styled Erin O'Connor for ''Vogue'' and convinced her to cut her hair short and dye it a darker color. He also styled

Audrey Hepburn Audrey Kathleen Hepburn ( Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress. Recognised as a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the third-greatest female screen legend from the Classical Holly ...

for ''Vanity Fair'',

Karen Elson Karen Jill Elson (born 15 January 1979) is an English model, singer, and songwriter. Early life and education Elson was born in Oldham, Greater Manchester, and attended North Chadderton School as a child. She has a fraternal twin sister, film ...

Oprah Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954) is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and media proprietor. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', broadcast from Chic ...

and

Gisele Bündchen Gisele Caroline Bündchen (, , born 20 July 1980) is a Brazilian fashion model. Since 2001, she has been one of the highest-paid models in the world. In 2007, Bündchen was the 16th-richest woman in the entertainment industry and earned the ...

. In 2012, he provided

Karlie Kloss Karlie Elizabeth Kloss (born August 3, 1992) is an American model. She was a Victoria's Secret Angel from 2013 until 2015, when she resigned to study at New York University. By 2019, Kloss had appeared on 40 international ''Vogue (magazine), V ...

with her now-signature Karlie bob. In January 2015, Garren closed his

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan in New York City. The avenue runs south from 143rd Street (Manhattan), West 143rd Street in Harlem to Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. The se ...

salon, but still styles select customers privately.

Influences

Garren cites his major influences as Mr. Kenneth,

Vidal Sassoon Vidal Sassoon (17 January 1928 – 9 May 2012) was a British hairstylist and businessman. He was noted for repopularising a simple, close-cut geometric hairstyle called the five-point cut, worn by famous fashion designers including Mary Quant ...

and Alexandre de Paris.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garren American hairdressers People from New York (state) People from Niagara Falls, New York 1949 births Living people