Giuseppe Toni Mascolo, the co-founder of hairdressing chain Toni & Guy, has died aged 75, his family has said.



Italian-born Mascolo established the first of the salons in Clapham, south London, in 1963 with his younger brother Gaetano, known as Guy.

The company went on to achieve global success and Mascolo credited Toni & Guy with influencing scores of celebrity trends.

Mascolo, who was chief executive, died on Sunday.

The company said: “Toni Mascolo was highly respected within the hairdressing community, he was known as approachable and someone who made time for everyone. It is no surprise that he built up a lengthy list of achievements, which transcended the industry to include business, entrepreneurship and charity.”

Mascolo was born in Naples in 1942. His father, a celebrated hairdresser, taught him and his four brothers to cut hair from a young age. Despite an interest in a career in law, Mascolo began working in London salons, firstly as an assistant to his father. When Guy was given the opportunity to take over the Clapham salon where he worked, Mascolo left his job and the pair opened the first Toni & Guy.

The singer Dusty Springfield and the composer Andrew Lloyd Webber were among the famous faces who frequented the salon in the 60s.

The company has since grown to comprise two global, franchised hair salon groups, with 475 Toni & Guys across 48 countries.

Asked by the Guardian in 2008 whether he had ever set a trend, such as Victoria Beckham’s famed bob, Mascolo said: “Well, I would honestly say we invented all of the trends. We’ve done more books, more DVDs, more techniques than anyone else.

“I mean, my dad was doing texturising in the 50s. We also brought in new technology, Japanese samurai scissors we called them, much sharper than anything people had been using before. They allowed you to be much more creative with hair.

“Of course, it always takes a while for haircuts to filter down to the high street, sometimes as long as two or three years. So we can’t prove anything.”

Mascolo was awarded an OBE for services to hairdressing in 2008. He is survived by wife, Pauline, brothers Bruno and Anthony, children Sacha, Christian and Pierre, and numerous grandchildren.

• This article was amended on 13 December 2017 to correct a spelling of Tony & Guy to Toni & Guy.

