“I try to take gender out of haircare, because it’s already too much a part of everything else. Hair is for everyone.”
“In my 20s, if I had $40 in my bank account but I was out of shampoo and conditioner, I would overdraft the shit out of my bank account,” says Jonathan Van Ness over a Zoom call. “Instead of getting food, I would get hair products.” Sound familiar? The hairstylist, Queer Eye star and founder of JVN Hair, sounds like an IRL Carrie Bradshaw, who famously said in Sex and the City‘s fourth season: “When I first moved to New York I was totally broke. Sometimes I would buy Vogue instead of dinner. I just felt it fed me more.”
RELATED: Did Sofia Richie Grainge Just Bring Back the Side Part?
During our call, the grooming guru and fan favourite from Netflix’s Queer Eye illuminates my screen with their megawatt smile, abundance of curls, a pop of green eyeshadow, and a bubbly nature that radiates all the way from across the pond — and my laptop screen. Since FASHION last spoke with Van Ness, they’ve embarked on a new leg of his comedy tour, Queer Eye has returned for its seventh season, and JVN Hair has launched a Pride haircare set in collaboration with GLSEN. (Van Ness is non-binary and uses the pronouns “they,” “he,” and “she” interchangeably. We’re using “they” in this article.)
Needless to say, there was a lot to catch up on. Ahead, Van Ness spills it all.
On finding self-confidence through hair and hairstyling
“I’ve been behind the chair since I was 18. I’ve seen the transformation in clients when they make a change. I see that in the most reason season of Queer Eye, too. It’s like, wanting to change your hair in some way, asking for help, having the courage to try something new, saving your money to do it—there’s a lot of risk. I think when we take risks and it works out for us, that is a confidence-building exercise.”
On the genderless approach to creating JVN…
Read the full article here
