Anthony Turner, styling ambassador for L’Oreal Professionnel, is the most exciting thing to happen to hair in aeons. Trust us. Here, he reveals what he keeps in his kit, the ultimate reference for new season hair and the stories behind the campaigns that launched his career

You travel all over the world to shoot with the biggest photographers and models. How extensive is your hair kit?‘Wherever I go I always take 5 big suitcases with me. Two are full of wigs, one is full of hair extensions, one is full of essentials (products, pins, grips, a hairdryer and all my hot tools) and the final bag - which I call the fun bag for when we go a bit crazier - is full of bonkers hair accessories and stuff from Camden. I grew up in a very clubby environment, we were going out all the time and a lot of my friends were experimenting with their hair and their looks - like goth, cyberkids, things like that and I always try and reference that in what I do and make it fun.’ 

So what do you keep in the fun bag?
‘I always keep a bag of PJ Tips in there. And you would also see things like, for example we did a shoot for Dazed and Confused where we did these Manga-inspired goth dreadlocks – like the ones you buy in Camden. We even did a shoot not long ago for ID where we sprayed Barbie Dolls black and tied them to the model’s hair. That was incredible.’

‘If I go to Japan, I’ll buy all these crazy hair things even though I don’t know what I’ll use them for, just because you never quite know what will happen. I always like to find little things that might not have seen before, like I’ve got this black Saran wrap that I spray paint. I‘ve got the whole kit bag down to a T.’

‘As long as it’s done in good taste and it’s done at the right moment, I never try and push anything on anyone or try and do something that doesn’t feel right. If it is just about a ponytail then I’m not going to try and sew something crazy into the hair just to get it out there. I always consider the whole image, it’s not just about me – it’s got to be a team effort and I’m very respectful of that.’ 

"every shoot I’ve done so far for the season is 9 ½ Weeks – this kind of sexy, powerful and in charge look but at the same time"

Which photographers and stylists encourage you to be the most creative?
‘People like Steven Klein always really like to go there. He’s so inspiring because he pushes you into somewhere you wouldn’t necessarily think of going and that’s really important – you don’t ever go too safe. Sometimes when you work with people know you well, you can kind of get away with doing whatever you want, when really what you need is someone to say ‘Well actually, why don’t you try that?’

‘In terms of stylists, Olivier Rizzo - I work with him a lot. He is, in my eyes, probably the best stylist there is. He does things with clothes I’ve never seen anybody do before – turning them inside out, pinning things on. And [the photographer] Willy Vanderperre is again, so incredible. Their reference points are so beyond anything that I know that I’ve learnt so much from them in terms of references and they’ll just throw the strangest things at you so you’re learning all the time. These people feed you. They’re all about pushing things and doing something that’s so avant-garde, so strange but still so tasteful and beautiful.’

What would be the most abstract or unexpected references for the next season’s hair?
‘A reference that has cropped up on more or less every shoot I’ve done so far for the season is 9 ½ Weeks – this kind of sexy, powerful and in charge look but at the same time, she does let herself go. There is something very passive about her but she’s still very much in control - a lot of the shoots I’ve been doing are about that kind of woman. We shot Winona Rider for Interview and all the references were 9 ½ Weeks, David Lynch, Tippi Hedren – that kind of woman who is in control but still kind of loses it.’ 

What products do you use to pull this look together?
‘I don’t work with a ton of products. I’m very basic. I’ll use 5 maybe 6 key products and the rest are just little add-ons. But for everyday kind of hair, a bit of mousse and L’Oreal Professionnel Tecni-Art Fresh Dust (£9.50),  I’m obsessed with it. A lot of my girlfriends and models use it all the time. I use it if a girl has come in from another show and they’ve got oil on their hair and I haven’t got time to wash it - or, if I want to back-comb their hair and make it fluffy. The great thing is it doesn’t make your hair white. It’s really easy and light.’

Anthony reveals the secrets behind the most iconic campaigns he has ever worked on in the gallery above