Hairphoria

Celebrity hairstylist and Euphoria season two hair department head Kim Kimble catches up with Screengrabs following the success of the second season

She is a mega-talented celebrity hairstylist who created some of the most iconic superstar looks for Beyoncé, Zendaya, Mary J. Blige and more, as well as a film and television hair designer and businesswoman. You’ve seen her latest work as hair department head for season two of Euphoria, the defining must-see series of Gen-Z. Kimble spoke to us about her haircare line at Walmart, Beyoncé’s Coachella look and the inspiration behind the Euphoria character’s locks. We hung on her every word.

The Euphoria season two hair department. Image courtesy of Kim Kimble.

Maya Orbach: Can you pinpoint a specific moment where your passion for hairstyling began and if so, when was it and how did it come about?

Kim Kimble: So, my journey was a little interesting because I grew up in a house full of hairstylists. My mother and my grandmother did hair. So, I’m third generation. So of course, when I got of age, I thought about becoming a hairstylist, but my passion was at the time to be a fashion designer. I thought I would work my way through fashion school after I did cosmetology, by doing hair. But once I got into doing hair, started going to hair shows, and I saw hairstylists on stage flipping their scissors- they call them platform artists- I thought, there’s more to just being behind a chair. I could be a platform artist. And then my mother moved from Chicago to Los Angeles to work for hairstylists who worked on films. She introduced me to the whole idea of a hairdressers’ union for hair and make-up people that I could work in. So, I learned that from her. That started really piquing my interest in wanting to stay in the hair business.

What really changed my mind from being a fashion designer is when I would watch my client sit in my chair and be transformed and go from not being so thrilled to be in the salon, to excited when she’s walking out of the chair. I really loved that transformation. I felt like I have a purpose now. I make people feel good and they’re happy. That’s why my phrase, “great hair equals confidence” comes from watching my clients in the chair be transformed. They’re putting on lipstick and wanting to go out and be fabulous after they get their hair done. Or whether it’s watching a celebrity go on stage and throw her hair around and have all this confidence in being fabulous. It really did something to me. And I would say probably by the age of 20, 21 is where I started thinking, I’m just going to stick with hair. And I let fashion go.

MO: As a businesswoman and entrepreneur, what was the process of launching your product range like and what kind of research and experimentation did you conduct to come to the end result?

Rue is portrayed by Zendaya. Illustration by Elias Nugent Harewood (easyundefined).

KK: Well, I had been working on manufacturing products for years before I even got to Walmart. I would make products and I would do a lot of my experimentation in the hair salon. So, I would use them on my clients, I would use them on me, but I’m the biggest guinea pig of them all. I try it all. During the pandemic is when we really birthed this line. Before the pandemic, I started doing research and trying to figure out a specific hair type because I was getting a lot of information and feedback from my followers on Instagram about their hair. And they always would ask me about natural hair and how can I take care of my 4C hair texture and low porosity and things like that.

So, I started to try and develop a line that really addressed that hair type, because I had that hair type. So, I’m the biggest guinea pig I guess when it came to developing that. I’d use it on my hair a lot. And we launched it in the middle of the pandemic, the haircare line for Walmart. So that’s how that came about, because I was listening to a lot of people on my social media, and I went on a hair journey. I cut my hair, started wearing it natural, because before I used to wear extensions and braids and so I decided to go ahead and go natural. I was down for the cause. I went ahead and did that because I thought this would be the best way for me to really help that customer with her haircare needs. And I have the same hair. I was the perfect guinea pig for using the products.

MO: How did it feel to see your products at Walmart?

Jules is portrayed by Hunter Schafer. Illustration by Elias Nugent Harewood (easyundefined).

KK: They are one of the biggest retailers in the world. The fact that they believed in our brand, and they really support Black owned businesses, they’re an amazing company to work for, so far in retail. They really support Black owned businesses, as far as they give them opportunities. They gave us a big opportunity and gave us a big launch. Not only did we have 11 items, now we have more, we’re adding more items. We also have tools. It was probably one of the biggest launches that they’ve had in terms of people of colour and Black owned businesses when it comes to haircare products. It was definitely life changing. I have to always say I’m so humbled and grateful when I get opportunities like this, because I know how hard they are to come by, and I know how many years it took to get there and I’m just super excited and grateful for that opportunity.

MO: You’ve worked with so many incredible celebrities and each time the hairstyles are amazing. Do you have a favorite celebrity hairstyle that you’ve done?

KK: I can’t say that I only have one favourite. They’re like children, there’s a lot of them and a lot of great moments in hair. It’s hard to say which one. There are so many. I loved the Mary J. Blige Halo Braid, on her breakthrough album. I loved that, so stunning, so different. When we first started with Beyoncé, we started doing long, tousled, sexy hair. I have to say that has to be one of my favourites. It is so popular now, but back then it was an interesting look and it helped me get a lot of clients. That particular look. Everybody at the time wanted that look. But then I loved when we transitioned her to the more long curly hair too, like on the Lemonade project and the Hold Up video, I love that texture. There’s so many. I have to say those are the ones that stand out right now.

MO: You’ve worked with Beyoncé on numerous projects such as the Crazy in Love music video, visual albums Lemonade and Black is King, Coachella and more. Where did you draw inspiration for Beyoncé’s looks and what was your vision for each album and Coachella?

Kat is portrayed by Barbie Ferreira. Illustration by Elias Nugent Harewood (easyundefined).

KK: Well, the thing is that we do a lot of collaboration. We sit down, we talk about it, we create moodboards, hear the music. She may have ideas about what she wants to do. It’s a collaboration, to be honest with you, with the artist and with myself usually. But I’ll start with moodboards and ideas. Sometimes she’ll have a creative team that will help pull inspiration of what we need to try to accomplish. It depends on what it is and there’s different ways. Sometimes it’s just her saying I want this, or whatever fits what we’re doing.

For example, Coachella- she normally has long, flowy hair. We wanted to still have the flowy hair but pulling it up was an intentional decision, half up half down. That way, if it’s blowing around it’s not all in her mouth, or her face. But then you still have long hair. It was nice to have that kind of clean within the front, something different. Because she usually wears her hair down when she performs. But depending on what you do or if it’s a performance, some people like to have hair movement. When it's a video, it’s based on what the video is about. There’s so many different options and different reasons on why we create different looks for different things.

MO: What was the experience like of creating Academy Award winner Ariana DeBose’s hair for the Met Gala?

KK: She had a specific look, because that’s a collaboration with the designer of the clothes that they’re wearing and the artist or the actress. I think that the inspiration was a little bit of a modern Josephine Baker-ish kind of feel. Beautiful classic dress, I think it was Michael Kors. I think it was something that came down from his team and her, what they wanted. So, I created these Finger Waves because although Josephine Baker was more slick and more Pin Curl-ish, all of that comes from the same era. So, we wanted to do Finger Waves because we haven’t seen them in a while and I thought it would be great, and this is something they kind of wanted so that’s how we came up with that.

Maddy is portrayed by Alexa Demie. Illustration by Elias Nugent Harewood (easyundefined).

MO: Now moving on to TV. How did you come up with the hairstyles for each character in season two of Euphoria?

KK: That was a collaboration with the director and the actors. But we also had to try and carry some things from season one, as a continuation. And then there were some where we can progressively change and elevate throughout the season. For example, Jules. We ended up cutting her hair. That was something I spoke with the director about and her, and she was very excited. The director wanted this sort of 90s grunge. It was a lot of 90s inspired looks this season. So that’s what the trend was, in our fashion, amongst our Gen-Z. They like the 90s. And that’s funny because that’s when I started doing hair, in the 90s. So, it was kind of cool for me to kind of go back down that road again.

MO: What has been your vision for season two as Euphoria hair department head for the main characters of the show? Such as Maddy, Rue…

KK: Again, I talk with Sam [Levinson]. As a director, he’s got the overall vision of what he’s thinking. And based on the characters and what they’re going through, and what he has written. For example, Sydney [Sweeny who portrays Cassie] was written to go Malibu Barbie-ish Blonde. So, we took her a little blonder and changed her hair, made her look more like Barbie, because that’s what he wrote in the script. That’s a change he wanted to see in her.

Maddy- she did a lot of 90-esque styles. She is always very stylish and very trendy in the show. That’s the kind of character she is. And for example, with Rue- she’s a drug addict, so she’s getting her hair, like, I didn’t comb it this morning. It’s just all over the place and that’s kind of how it was supposed to be, because she’s a wreck and her hair expresses what she’s going through. And then you see it tames a little bit when she’s trying to kind of get herself together. So, the hair and her help tell the story, which is why it’s important to have a good hair and make-up team, because they help along with the story.

Cassie is portrayed by Sydney Sweeney. Illustration by Elias Nugent Harewood (easyundefined).

MO: What are the type of conversations that occur between the different visual departments to create a cohesive visual look for each character on Euphoria?

KK: We collaborate with wardrobe, make-up. After we talk with the director, we collaborate and we see what the wardrobe is. A lot of times that will help dictate what the hair is going to be, and then make-up also. Sometimes we have to get together because those things are very collaborative. You don’t want to overpower make-up. If the make-up is doing a lot, you want to keep the hair kind of simple and clean sometimes. Or vice versa if the make-up is really simplistic then here’s an opportunity to do a little bit more with the hair. It just really depends, so it’s definitely collaborative. If she’s going out, you don’t want to have her regular hairstyle, maybe she’s coming in from an event. Or she’s going to bed, so the hair is very, I’m going to bed hair. So, you want to make sure you coordinate with wardrobe and make-up and you guys collaborate and run things by.

We run pictures by each other like hey, we’re doing this, this is what the wardrobe is going to be for today. But before that we all do camera tests, we all do production reading, so we get a little bit of the vision of what we’re doing for the whole season early on. So, it’s not like we’re making it up as we go. But sometimes, there are adjustments and we do have to make things up as we go, but for the most part there should be a plan. And for me and my team, I’ll have vision boards and pictures and ideas of what I’m thinking we’re going to do.

MO: The Euphoria looks have gone absolutely viral, especially on social media channels like Tik Tok and Instagram. Have you seen the hairstyle recreations and what do you think of Gen-Z experimenting with different designs?

KK: I love it. I think it’s fantastic. I have seen them recreate some of the looks and making comments on Tik Tok about the hair and Jules’ haircut, and woah look at this hair! I think it’s amazing, the fact that people are into it and to see your work materialize is cool. I remember the first time I saw my work on a billboard I was very excited, or to see it on television. Scary, but excited. And now with social media, it’s a whole other thing. When I started that’s all it was, billboards and television. Now you’ve got billboards, television, social media, Facebook, Tik Tok. And I think it’s super cool, and I love to see people recreate it. And sometimes you think in your mind when we’re creating stuff it’s like oh, wouldn’t it be fun for people to recreate. Because now we know it’s a thing. So sometimes you have that in mind as well.

Hairphoria

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