By Tauhahi Subritzky

Robert Lobetta’s story begins in the London suburb of Stoke Newington, where his father worked as a dressmaker. Robert, as a child, recalls watching his father creating beautiful shapes from formless fabrics (this process would later become an integral element behind the inspiration of Robert's work.) At 15, and under the influence of his father, Robert began training at various hair salons in London. His father deemed that hairdressing was a craft which had practical artistic value, much to Robert's initial hesitation.

After working in various salons, and contemplating the prospect of leaving it all behind to attend art school, Robert was offered a position at ‘Ricci Burns’ salon in Kensington. It was here that Robert embraced his rebellious nature and the world of hair and fashion collided in the form of ‘punk’.

As Robert contended with the restraints of hairdressing during the 1970s, where hair stylists either “cut hair like Vidal Sasson'' or “did chignons like Alexandre de Paris”. The ‘punk’ movement, which Robert found himself immersed in, due in part to the salon's proximity to Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren’s shop ‘SEX’, challenged these notions and played into Robert’s rebellious nature by actively defying the ‘rules’ of what hair had to be.

“Punk basically said “fuck off” to any notion of convention", and “I’m going to piss and spit all over what you think hair and make-up should be.''

Robert worked with Jordan Mooney as a client (‘icon of punk’ and muse to Vivienne Westwood) and collaboratively, created a hairstyle that would challenge Robert's notion of mainstream hairstyling and would later become part of the visual signifiers of anti-establishment.

With the ‘punk’ movement playing an integral part in shifting Robert’s mindset toward hairstyling, a conversation with a friend, suggesting he utilise his artistic skill, led him to approach hair in a different way, as art.

“In the same way an artist would look at a piece of clay and they’d be a sculptor, I was now looking at hair as my medium.”