Hair Play by Chloe Houston – Texture, Color & Shape
After the biggest year of her career so far, Chloe Houston gave herself permission to play. The senior stylist at Houston Hair in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, was named Newcomer of the Year at the 2025 British Hairdressing Awards. Her new Hair Play collection is a deliberate step back from the pressure that comes with a title like that.
“After winning Newcomer of the Year, I wanted to take this year to step away from the pressure of creating a collection and simply experiment,” Houston says. “I wanted to play with texture, color and shape, push myself creatively and most importantly, have fun with the process.”
Instead of building toward a fixed concept, she used a single shoot day to capture ideas she had been playing around with. There was no real plan, only experimentation and curiosity about where it would lead. She sums up the Hair Play collection simply: “Six looks. Six different moods. One creative playground.”
Six Looks, Six Moods
The Hair Play collection moves quickly from one mood to the next. A pastel pink bob, cut blunt with heavy bangs that graze the brows, has an almost liquid shine. It is also the look on The Hair Magazine’s digital cover. Inky navy appears twice. First, it comes as a short, piece-y crop with choppy bangs, worn against silver lamé. Then Houston pushes it into sharp, splintered spikes that fan out around the head.
Elsewhere, long golden braids are gathered high at the crown and threaded with gold chains and oversized hoops, partly veiling the face. Styling by Magdalena Jacobs keeps returning to metal, from silver lamé to a sculptural silver collar. Meanwhile, makeup by Roseanna Velin gives each look its own register. Think smoky silver lids with the navy, a deep brown lip with the pink and bare, glowing skin with the braids. Richard Miles photographed the collection.
About Chloe Houston
Houston began her hairdressing career at just 13. She later trained at the Vidal Sassoon Academy in London. There, she built strong technical foundations in cutting, coloring and modern styling. Today she works in the family-run Houston Hair salon as part of a creative team led by her father, Simon Houston.
Alongside her Newcomer of the Year win, she holds the current Most Wanted Creative Image of the Year title. Her experience also includes backstage work at London Fashion Week and a photo shoot with Mel C. She continues to invest in her education, too, and travels regularly to London as part of Project Colour 2026.
Hair by Chloe Houston at Houston Hair, Ballymena, Northern Ireland · Makeup by Roseanna Velin · Styling by Magdalena Jacobs · Photography by Richard Miles
