Michele Antiga Biography

Written by Amanda James

Putting your head into the hands of Michele Antiga is something of a transformational experience. Read through the myriad of feedback he’s had from deeply satisfied customers and what shows up time and time again is how much they trust him, how carefully he listens to their needs and how consistently amazing the results have been. 

Michele Antiga’s signature talent lies in a potent synergy of creative flair, skilful application and a generous capacity for really listening. For him the initial consultation is as crucial as the process of cutting, colouring, shaping and creating itself. He invests time and energy on finding out exactly what each individual wants. His natural empathy and curiosity means that by engaging in this process they get an honest opinion of what works, what suits them and how to manage the integrity of their hair. 

Michele Antiga can intuit and feel into individual needs and his forte lies in an ability to clearly articulate what his clients want. He’s able to take their fanciful wishes of taming wild kinks and curls or revitalising dull tresses and translate them into dream creations bouncing with vitality and life. Anyone who has ever endured the heartbreak of a diabolical haircut at the hands of a maverick imposing their own vision, will understand how vitally important this sense co-creation and collaboration can be. According to one of his longstanding clients:

“Michele listens to what you’ve got to say and tries to find out what you really want. I’ve seen him literally transforming hair and people who have been really nervous about having their hair cut walk out the salon with new confidence and delight” 

Michele Antiga’s understanding of shape and form allows him to recommend or cultivate cuts that really compliment idiosyncratic features and faces. As well as the aesthetics, he also understands the changes and transformations women and men go through year by year. He takes time to gather information, to explore the lifestyle his clients lead so together they can create a unique expression that brings out the best aspects of each individual. Michele Antiga is both artistic and pragmatic, he knows that a complex style for someone who goes to the gym everyday will just not work.

As he eloquently puts: “If what you want for your hair doesn’t reflect your personality or inner qualities then it just won’t work.” He knows how important it is to get all the elements right and his attention to detail means he will explore options and posit solutions until he creates the perfect image for his clients. He knows that sometimes even the smallest details can make the biggest difference and this impeccability and care means they trust his vision. The looks he creates allow clients to have fun with their hair. These styles work because they are easy to manage on a daily basis, but can also evolve into something more glamorous, sexy, sophisticated and structured when the occasion demands.

As you might have guessed there is virtuosity in the way Michele Antiga operates. He is an artist at heart playing with possibility to create different shapes and forms. He employs techniques from his art background to the way he cuts and texturizes hair so it moves with fluidity in a way that is pleasing to the eye. His ability to create a natural look comes from staying away from complexity or heavily saturated colours and tones. Hair in his hands becomes softer, easier to manage as he enhances, cultivates and encourages what is already there.

Michele Antiga also approaches colour in a completely unique way, eschewing conventional dyes for a bespoke approach. Using the hair as his canvas, he has created an innovative method called ‘Pixelights’ which involves a multitude of tones literally painted onto individual hairs. Rather like high definition imaging in digital photos, Pixelights work in fine detail in minute areas, illuminating colour and creating a 3D effect by giving hair more body, depth and luminosity. It’s the ultimate high definition for hair and if you’re looking for the definitive sun kissed look, then this is the technique to go for. Michele Antiga is also a great believer in what he calls 'invisible colour', a multi-dimensional approach which embraces techniques used in contemporary mixed media art such as layering pigments through translucent tones, satin finishes or vinyl effects to enhance natural shades. This organic approach optimises skin tone to make it look healthier and more radiant, it also keeps fading to a minimum, grey hair at bay and regrowth is much less visible. Naturally, his clients just can’t get enough of it.

For Michele Antiga being a Hair-Artist is less of a job and more of a vocation. Although he has been doing this for 25 years, both in Italy and London since 2000, he still derives an immense sense of fulfilment from each of his creations. He sees the possibility in each person he encounters and that is why they love him. This positive feedback loop means Michele Antiga has a high client return some of whom have been with him for the whole time he’s been in London. They are loyal because they feel elegant, look delightful and are consistently blown away by his knowledge and care.

But it hasn’t all been high fashion and highflying, Michele Antiga has worked thoughtfully and diligently to get where he is. He is dedicated, committed and goes above and beyond the call of duty for his clients, getting up at 3am to get a train to fashion shoot or spending two overnight flights to see a valued customer. This vocation is a lifelong commitment for him.

Born in Italy, in a small town north of Venice, Michele Antiga’s fascination with hair has been evident since his childhood. He can recall being six years old when he first asked his mother to buy him a doll, the requirement being that it had long flowing locks he could play with. At school he displayed a precocious talent for drawing which led, perhaps inevitably, to an art diploma. It was here he learned the basics of his craft. Not only shape, texture and tone but the importance of colour and how it can be synthesised through light. It was these artistic foundations that continue to inform his work today.

As an artist Michele Antiga has found his medium in hair and like a true aesthete he continues to be inspired in the ordinary and everyday. He drinks in everything, pays attention to the minutiae of the world around him and is impacted by all stylistic expressions from graphic covers to installations to art exhibitions. He continues to paint, abstract and contemporary mixed media, which articulate his emotional landscapes.

He fell in love with London long before he moved there citing an affinity with the layout and the grandeur of the buildings. He loves walking around soaking up architecture and the green spaces make his heart sing. For him this heaving metropolis represents the centre of the world. He says the sense of accepting and understanding he experiences living there makes the city perfect place for the natural curiosity and inquisitiveness which draws him to others, something reflected in his client base who are from all over the world. Since he’s been in London he’s journeyed through the capital’s top salons including the world renowned Rossano FerrettiHairspa where he learned the fundamental steps of the Rossano Ferretti Method and honed his unique talents. Currently he’s based at Gielly Green Boutique Salon, London’s ultimate hair and beauty destination, where his clients have faithfully followed.

Michele Antiga feels blessed to have two different homes he loves equally for different reasons. For him it is like living in two different dimensions which both sustain and nurture him. London is where he works, creates, hones his craft and cultivates his art. Italy is where he rejuvenates, escaping to his holiday home on the Venetian coast where he and his beloved pug, Mina go for long walks to unwind. As you might expect from someone with such a cosmopolitan outlook Michele Antiga has a peripatetic lifestyle travelling all over the world for clients who crave his attentions

Armed with only the tools of his trade and his imagination Michele Antiga has been personally summonsed to work his magic in places as diverse as the Middle East to the Maldives, from charity events in Saint Petersburg to filming in Wyoming to secret destinations with royalty and celebrity clients insisting on confidentiality contracts. For him his scissors are like his paintbrushes, he can’t do without them and has four distinct pairs using the different blades for different effects such as textures, softening, shaping and revitalising. The joy of working with Michele Antiga is that he so clearly loves what he does, is passionate about his art and completely committed.

And when asked what would be his ultimate dream, his face lights up, his eyes sparkle and without missing a beat he replies, “I’m doing it.”