RADIO TIMES

Since opening in 2010, Radio has become one of London’s most progressive and respected salon groups. Creative HEAD talks cuts and creativity with founder Corrado Tevere

Corrado It’s surely no coincidence that Corrado Tevere’s first Radio salon used to be an art gallery. Right from the outset he wanted to create a unique salon experience, inspired by photographic studios and gallery spaces, where his team and clients could be together in a space open to music and art and as many inspiring elements as he could host. His is a curated vision of hairdressing, and it looks very cool indeed.

Corrado arrived in London from Italy in the mid-1990s, in search of “something creative… I always love to create shapes,” he says. It was when working as an assistant in a salon off Portobello Road that he “fell in love” with the craft of cutting hair and moved to a more established salon in Covent Garden where he became a qualified hairstylist.

“I dedicated all of my time to practising hair and assisting other hairstylists on photoshoots and catwalk shows,” he recalls. “Around this time, I started renting a place in Shoreditch. It was when East London was beginning to establish itself as a raw and creative hub, and I found work at a salon in Shoreditch known as Vision. During this time, I immersed myself in the East London creative scene, which became the foundation for everything I developed in the years that followed.” Corrado started working with upcoming musicians and artists who went on to become mainstream, and from there he became a regular in the music industry, travelling with artists on tour, working on fashion editorials and TV shows and assisting on runway shows. As his session styling work grew, Corrado started dividing his time between the salon and session and noticed a significant difference between the two worlds in the approach to hair and hair education.

“I loved cutting hair, but I never felt inspired by the typical salon atmosphere like I did working in the session styling environment,” he says. “This led me to consider opening my own space, in order to fill this gap and create something unique that goes beyond the average hair salon.”

Corrado’s plans started to take shape. He knew he wanted to create an inspiring space more in line with what he was experiencing in photographic studios and on set, so when a former gallery space on Redchurch Street in Shoreditch came on the market, he knew it was the opportunity he’d been waiting for. He named it

Radio Shoreditch

Radio King’s Cross

Imagery by the Radio Artistic Team

Radio “because it represented a non-visual form of inspiration and a form of communication that is relevant to me”.

At that time, the hairdressing salon industry was focused on sharp, geometric shapes and heavily retouched imagery, while the session styling industry celebrated more natural and undone styles. Corrado wanted Radio to incorporate more editorial elements into hairdressing, providing greater technical freedom in the execution of hairstyles. He also wanted to establish a contemporary education system that differed from those that existed at the time. The primary emphasis of Radio’s education would be on creating haircuts and styles with softer shapes, simpler techniques and easier sectioning that could be easily implemented into daily salon work.

“None of this happened overnight,” says Corrado. “To develop this ethos into our work, we created our own way of cutting, colouring and styling hair and consistently produced photoshoots that were not focusing on creating traditional hair collections as part of our training. We took the team to work on our fashion shows and encouraged them to assist other stylists connected to Radio. At the same time, we curated every element of the client experience, from our complimentary drink menus to our product offerings.”

At Radio’s opening party in September 2010 the salon showcased its first art exhibition, which turned into a music gig that ended up blocking the road outside the salon. “All our friends came to support us, and since then, we have regularly hosted all sorts of events, from gallery openings showcasing upcoming and established artists to book launches and music gigs. Most importantly, our salon and education team have carved a niche for themselves in the competitive world of hairstyling.”

Radio’s journey began with a team of eight hand-picked individuals Corrado had met while working in the industry. Over the years, the team has grown to 40 and expanded to different locations, including a second Radio in King’s Cross, an area that is steeped in history and buzzing with activity following a complete redevelopment. Corrado was attracted by the creative energy of Central Saint Martins, the different audience the area attracts, and the fact it’s now a hub for major companies such as Universal Records, Sony, Facebook and Google.

Radio King’s Cross is spacious and versatile, perfect for hosting the expanding salon team, a hair academy (Radio now offers its education to other salons), a photographic studio and a larger gallery event space alongside a brand new beauty area. Polished concrete floors and oversized artworks create a spectacular backdrop while an enormous oak table makes a perfect work base or somewhere to enjoy an Allpress flat white.

Corrado has also opened a men’s grooming salon, Manifesto, in the same King’s Cross area with his friend and colleague, Mikey Pearson. “Mikey and I met while working at Vision in Brick Lane back in the early 2000s.” recalls Corrado. “Later, Mikey joined the

RADIO HEADS

“The success of Radio and Manifesto can be attributed to our great team, and especially to my close collaborators Mikey Pearson, Adriano D’Astolto, and Rino Riccio. Mikey and I complement each other and share the same aesthetic views, making us a great business partnership. Rino and Adriano, who are in charge of education at our salons, bring unique qualities to the table, along with fresh ideas and an unmatched passion for hair. We have amazing communication with each other, and we often share ideas that cross over the two salons.”

CORRADO TEVERE Radio founder, Manifesto co-founder and creative director

MIKEY PEARSON Manifesto co-founder

RINO RICCIO Manifesto head of education

ADRIANO D’ASTOLTO Radio head of education

Imagery by the Manifesto Artistic Team

Manifesto

Radio team when it first started and although he eventually worked exclusively as a session stylist in the male grooming industry, we always stayed in touch. Eventually, we began discussing the idea of creating a salon brand specialising in men’s haircuts.

“Our starting point was that, at the time, the barbering industry was primarily focused on short hair and skin fades with sharp finishing. We wanted to evolve from that and create a brand with a softer approach to short haircutting that also specialised in mid-length to long hairstyles with natural finishes focusing on less clipper work and more scissor work. Like Radio, we wanted to create something unique and special, so the ethos ‘cut technically/style naturally’ was born.”

Now deep into a partnership with Davines (Corrado talks passionately about their shared ethos and Radio’s journey to sustainability), both the Radio and Manifesto hair teams have showcased their skills at major Davines events, such as the Regeneration Tour in Dublin and London, as well as Hair on Stage in Turin. In October Radio will perform at the Davines Worldwide Tour in Berlin, its biggest international show to date.

Manifesto is eight years old this month, while Radio turns 14 in September – testament to the strong foundations and successful evolution of both businesses. Corrado says that the challenges of lockdown made him a better business owner, and the salons came out of it stronger and better. “We are proud to say that these two salons have established themselves as unique and innovative brands, and they are having their best years to date in an industry that has undergone significant changes over the past few years.”