filled with a medley of rockabilly sounds, Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, but while the salon loves its retro tunes, you’ll soon realise this little corner of Manchester is in an era of its own. A tour around three expansive floors

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reveals a range of mod-cons and ultra- clean Ikea furniture, coupled with antique delights, grand fireplaces and stylishly distressed floorboards. “We’ve done it quite period with rich

reds and mahogany but each room’s different; it’s modern mixed with olde worlde,” says salon director Richie, who was also responsible for the design. From the outside of the luminous white building you can see the first of many glistening chandeliers hanging in the decadent black bay window – which is thanks to Richie’s extravagant tastes. “I have chandeliers everywhere. I want

to put chandeliers into the fireplaces but nobody will let me! I want the whole salon to be over the top and it will progressively become more so as I find more pieces to add in,” he says. Identity only relocated from Stretford Mall in November last year but the clients are already flocking in, although to Richie’s disappointment there’s no sign of a celeb, yet.

“I would love to get my hands on the hair of some celebs; I see them walking

tep into Identity Salon and Spa and you’re likely to think you’ve stepped back in time. The air is

around and think, ‘oh my god’.” The colour theme is gold and purple

throughout – apart from the beauty room which is cappuccino brown and cream and complemented by decking and pebbles for a relaxed feeling of Zen. But where did this self-confessed Ikea fan get his inspiration from? “I just looked at a lot of antique shops and reclamation yards,” Richie explains. “I couldn’t live in a house like my grandmother’s with antiques everywhere, but the odd piece in the right place looks really, really nice.” There are separate rooms for washing and cutting, which means Richie can offer his clients some much needed privacy – although it does have its down side.

“I’m such a control freak so I hate it that when I’m cutting hair in one room, I don’t know what’s going on at reception,” confesses Richie. There’s still a lot to be done, including converting the unused top floor into a huge cutting and colour lounge, but for the moment Richie is focused on the more inexpensive touches, such as sourcing retro photographs of Stretford. He says, “I’m going to put them in gaudy, gold gilt frames. The 50s were so glam with everyone in their big fur coats, I want a bit of that.

“It’s about being different. There are so many other salons around; you have to stand out in the market.”

Images supplied

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