Red carpet season may be just around the corner, but for some stars of British fashion and beauty, the gongs have already come in. Céline’s Phoebe Philo, for one, and make-up artist Pat McGrath for another, both of whom found themselves on the New Year’s Honours list at the beginning of 2014.

That Britain has an international reputation for creativity and cool won’t come as much of a surprise – but the patriotic celebration of that scene too often remains confined to designers, say, or journalists. There isn’t quite as much attention paid to the stylists, make-up artists and hairdressers who also count towards the imagination that sells our country and its creative industries so well abroad.

That’s why it feels so progressive to have McGrath – an A-lister in her field, the steady hand backstage at so many shows, the voice of experience for cosmetics brands the world over – on that list too. She’s a real force in British fashion, working on the international scene in a role that so often remains behind closed doors at the very highest level.

And that’s also why it stands out quite so much that David Cameron’s hairdresser, Lino Carbosiero, has also been included on the list. Mr. Carbosiero, who works out of Daniel Galvin’s salon, tends the tresses of Kelly Osbourne and Dustin Hoffman, to name but a couple of his other exhilaratingly famous clients.

It’s indicative of the state of affairs – if not the state of the nation – that hairdressers have, in an age of preternatural glitz and round-the-clock glamour, become as crucial and as any special advisor or spin doctor. In fact, their work is a form of spin in itself: Carbosiero’s Tory topiary has hit headlines before, when he reconfigured Mr. Cameron’s parting from left to right in 2010, in line with his policies. A year later, Carbosiero persuaded the PM into a sympathetic third way – not in line with his policies, sadly – by just giving up and sweeping it all off his face

The recognition of these figures marks something of a stepping-into-the-light for them. With the advent of Instagram and live-streams, their jobs have become a little less obscure anyway. That access means the spotlight shines further than it traditionally did, taking in the team rather than simply the stars.

We take it for granted that Kate Middleton’s hairdresser James Pryce has accompanied her on official business and trips. When Cherie Blair’s first did, more than ten years previously, there was uproar and outcry. People were scandalised at such preening. That was before you could Google Map someone’s hairline to check for greys, of course, and before women were expected to look photo-ready no matter what time of day or night it was, or which war-zone they were on a press trip to.

"hairdressers have become as crucial as any special advisor or spin doctor"

There have been cries of cronyism over Lino Carbosiero’s honours; that’s a matter of politics, perhaps. But more than that, there have been murmurings, or titterings, of that sort of patronising, easily shrugged-off dismissal that the fashion and beauty industries, and those who work within them, come up against so frequently. The snide suggestions that this is a ‘tip’, the constant use of the word ‘crimper’ in the press to devalue a man who has worked throughout his career to set up apprenticeships schemes for young people entering his profession (although, admittedly, I would pay good money to see Cameron crimped).

That slightly pursed-lips tone – that a hairdresser could merit an OBE; that a make-up artist has helped the realm; that people doing these jobs could make a difference.

'The negativity saddens me because it’s all about, ‘Why should a hairdresser get it?’', Mr. Carbosiero told The Times yesterday. 'What you have seen in the last ten years is that more and more hairdressers are recognised. I’m one of three in the New Year’s Honours List. It shows that people are recognising that hairdressers aren’t just fluffy and stand behind the chair and talk nonsense all day. We do a lot behind the scenes as well.'

The fact is they do. Hillary Clinton’s transformation at the hands of her stylists changed her fortunes. That she is now a politician in charge of her own pantsuit doesn’t mean she relies any less on her hairdresser Isabelle Goetz. And guess what, Goetz looks after the rugs of many of the men in the Senate too. 

So snigger at David Cameron’s hair by all means, and gasp as Kate’s bouncing curls, but don’t do down the people whose presence your gawping requires with your next breath.