“Tricophilia”: Charlie Le Mindu Creates Art With 10,000 Wigs
Artist Charlie Le Mindu Makes Hair-story With Paris Exhibit
Remember Lady Gaga’s bold lip-shaped bouffant from her “Bad Romance” music video? How about Julia Fox‘s statement-making handbag crafted with 100 percent human hair? These pop culture moments were created by French hair artist Charlie Le Mindu (@charlielemindu)—a self-proclaimed tricophile, or lover of hair. (And we thought nobody loved hair more than us!)
Most recently, Charlie’s passion for hair artistry has taken shape in the temple of Parisian lifestyle: The Samaritaine, located in the heart of Paris, France. This exhibit—appropriately named “Tricophilia“—bejewels the Eiffel staircase with 10,000 upscaled wigs.
Scroll to see Charlie and their team at work!
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This monumental masterpiece took months to create.
How did Charlie carefully curate 10,000 heads of hair? It was a careful balance of artistic integrity and practicality. In other words: Countless renderings and months of hair sourcing.
“Upcycling hair can be tricky, so it took months of sourcing. It is important that [only] hair DNA is in the piece, but we had to work with huge restrictions to fit the classified monument’s safety requirements, like using fireproof fibers,” Charlie explains. “[For upcycling, we recycled] fibers from shows, celebrities and even costumes and paired [them] with a base of fireproof fibers called kanékalons. It is a patchwork that looks very homogeneous, but it was definitely a challenge!”
Additionally, Charlie praises their team: “I also have an amazing team, I couldn’t have done it without them.”
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The Eiffel staircase is “Tricophilia”’s dream home.
Built in 1905, the Eiffel staircase is an iconic part of the French patrimoine and the last remaining original staircase in any department store in Paris. For Charlie, it was the obvious choice for “Tricophilia”’s home.
“I am the first artist ever to be able to touch the Eiffel staircase!” says Charlie. “It is such an honor for me to have this opportunity to work on it. That is why I wanted to respect the colors, the materials and the shapes from La Samaritaine [in my work].”
“Tricophilia” is set to evolve four times & and host a series of events.
Charlie’s exhibit will be available for viewing until May 9, 2023, with four stunning revolutions and many specially curated events.
See the schedule of “Trichophila” below:
- March 15, 2023: First staircase evolution, titled “Floraison”
- March 18 and March 19, 2023: La danse du brintemps (spring dance) performance
- April 1 and April 2, 2023: La danse du brintemps (spring dance) performance
- April 3, 2023: Fringe workshop
- April 13, 2023: Second staircase evolution, titled “Une coupe Estivale”
- May 3 to May 9 2023: Third staircase evolution, titled “Moisson”
- May 5, 2023: Merkin and upcycling workshop
Charlie’s work sends a message to hair lovers everywhere.
As an artist, Charlie is thankful for the opportunity to express their passion for hair artistry—with a special appreciation for Samaritaine. “I am very happy to have this opportunity to work with the team of Samaritaine. They have been so professional and listened to me in terms of what I wanted,” Charlie shares. And the takeaway for stylists, hair fanatics and beyond? “It is important for me to show every time all of the techniques involved in our art—so many things can be done! Hair is such a versatile medium.”
As for why the exhibit is called “Tricophilia”? “Those who know me will know,” Charlie assures us. “But everyone knows I might be the most obsessed with hair!”
The mastermind behind Julia’s unforgettable hair whip? That was Charlie, too.
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Charlie’s intricate lip-shaped wig for Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” music video:
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