This week R+Co Co-Founder and Celebrity Hairstylist, Garren, launched a new luxury hair line under the R+Co umbrella called R+Co BLEU. Touted as being analogous to the fashion house concept of ready-to-wear and couture lines, BLEU represents the latter in the beauty realm.
The range celebrates Garren’s storied career, and embodies the glamour and transformative style for which his work is known. R+Co BLEU will include 21 sku’s, comprising hair care, styling and finishing products, ranging in price from $52 to $77.
Here, we caught up with Garren, along with CEO/Founder of Luxury Brand Partners, Tevya Finger, and R+Co President, Daniel Langer, to learn more about the line, its inspiration and sustainability aspects and its role in a post-COVID world.
Beauty News: What inspired the new line?
Garren: I wanted something very luxurious and couture. There hasn’t been a luxury line in the hair-care market that’s been launched in almost a decade. I felt that it was time to do something in a big way with all my expertise. I’m not only a hairdresser who’s worked fashion week and countless shoots, I’ve also been involved with designers and salons, as well. My whole world is always looking at what’s wrong, not what’s right. When I was given formulas to test, I would drive people crazy. It would work on six girls but not the seventh so it wasn’t good enough, and we would go back to the drawing board. I wanted a hair care line that was treated like a luxury skin care line.
For me, it was going back so many decades, reliving when I became Garren. It was when I moved to New York and in four months I was a top hairdresser for Vogue and Glamour. Within six months, I was on an airplane going to Paris to see the couture shows and work them. I was sitting in the front rows and so overwhelmed by the extravagance and the beauty of the models and the way it was presented. I wanted to go back to my roots and how I’ve grown through the whole process over the decades that I’ve been doing hair. I want people to think when they gravitate to this product, that they get a little bit of Garren in every bottle.
BN: How did you come up with the name?
Garren: The line was inspired by all of the travel I’ve done in my career. Everything that’s blue is the Caribbean, Capri, Saint Tropez, South of France. It brings a sense of calm and tranquility. There are smells that come through, kind of like when you’re in Saint Barths and everyone’s fragrance is kind of mingling together. I want people to relive that memory and transport to those places. I also didn’t want to use the American word blue. They decided on bleu because that way we can include both English and French on the packaging. It’s also a pretty name, especially when you see it in all caps. I’m so into blue after our world in black in fashion, that’s why I went into the blue-inspired name. Blue is kinder, gentler and more chic. It’s got a lot of European feel to it — it’s my dream, my fantasy not my reality.
BN: Tell us about the extra push for sustainability.
Garren: Everything from the biodegradable packaging to the vegan formulas are sustainable and are such an important component for this line. Each product carton even comes with a seed-infused card that will grow wildflowers when you plant it. It’s designed to be better for the environment. The bottles are made of 100 percent PCR recycled materials and the packaging is 100 percent recyclable.
BN: What’s the breakdown of the range?
Garren: These are products you would use to create looks and different textures to your hair —they are meant for everyone. It may seem like a lot of sku’s but when you break it down, you have four categories for different types of hair. Then within each, you have a shampoo and conditioner. That leaves you with five hero products meant for blow drying, styling and treating. I’ve worked with the best products my whole life and this is a simplistic way to give you the best of the best that will enhance hair past the treatment phase. It’s getting what you need and is all about hair health and getting the hair back to a place that’s safe from breaking.
This line is truly meant for everyone, both men and women, and is designed for every hair type and texture. We created the type of products I would use and simplified them for clients who want to do their own hair, instead of relying on weekly visits to the salon. It empowers clients to take charge of their hair. They are straightforward products that deliver the results they promise.
I have worked on so many famous people and people whose hair has been compromised, all different textures and hair types. When creating this line, I was thinking of all my clients and what works for them and what would heal their hair. It’s like I have this massive rolodex in my head that is so large which makes me think of everybody when creating these formulas, not just one specific person or hair type. This is what makes me different compared to just someone else who decides to do a hair care line. My experience, my knowledge. And now I’m ready and so excited to share it with the world.
BN: How does this range fit within the R+Co brand philosophy?
Dan Langer: R+Co and R+Co BLEU share the same DNA. Both are high performance, stylist driven lines rooted in a philosophy of clean and healthy beauty. Where R+Co is based on a collective approach to product development and education… BLEU is a singular perspective, based on the five-decade editorial career of R+Co co-founder, Garren. Fashion has a history of brands that have both couture and ready-to-wear collections — R+Co is now bringing that philosophy to hair care in this clean, sustainable capsule dedicated to visionary beauty and timeless style.
BN: What was the impetus to launch this line now?
DL: The world is now more than ever focused on wellness and the environment. We felt that a message of clean and sustainable beauty would be a welcome moment. R+Co BLEU formulas are concentrated to minimize water, are vegan, gluten-free, paraben-free, sulfate-free and Leaping Bunny Certified. The packaging is made from 100 percent PCR / Biodegradable Sugar Cane and Aluminum and is 100 percent recyclable. By being Recycled and Recyclable we are able to create a virtuous circle. R+Co has also partnered with One Tree Planted to ensure that every purchase of R+Co BLEU goes to support global forestation efforts.
Tevya Finger: Luxury Brand Partners believes that brands like ONE/SIZE by Patrick Starrr with its message of inclusivity, and R+Co BLEU with its huge push into sustainability, are two brands with unique voices that need to be heard and can help make a positive impact on the world.
BN: Why is BLEU ideal for a post-COVID world?
DL: Styling one’s own hair has definitely been at the forefront of everyone’s minds these last few months.
BN: What white space does the BLEU fill in the marketplace?
DL: R+Co BLEU is creating a new category of hair care, Ultra-high-performance. Performance criteria is higher than it has ever been … today’s consumers expect technologically advanced formulas and treatment-based products plus clean, sustainable beauty. R+Co BLEU was created with that mindset —a hyper-focus on hair health, results and sustainability.
Garren is one of the world’s reigning hairstylists, renowned for his artist’s craft, discerning eye and uncompromising point of view. Relied upon by top magazines, photographers and designers for his ability to reinvent a model or celebrity with a flick of his scissors or the twist of his comb, Garren has been creating pop-culture’s most iconic looks and needle-moving fashion moments for the last four decades. He helped define the supermodel age, creating career-making cuts for Linda Evangelista, Amber Valletta and Karen Elson. He transformed Farrah Fawcett, turned Madonna into Marilyn Monroe, and gave Victoria Beckham an image-altering pixie cut to mark her move from Posh Spice to high fashion. He continues to be the master behind the most talked about cuts of the moment, consistently working with everyone from Kendall Jenner to Karlie Kloss. Garren has collaborated with designers from Versace, Valentino, Prada and Marc Jacobs to Michael Kors and Anna Sui, and is behind countless magazine covers.
While he is often associated with polished precision, editorial edge and larger-than-life glamour, Garren is also celebrated for his talent for taking the fantasy of high fashion and translating it for real life, developing signature styles with everyday ease for his hundreds of personal clients. A fierce proponent of individuality and modernity, he encourages men and women to use the power of hair to confidently express their own style and to chart their personal evolutions.