As with all NYC salons, Julien Farel has been closed since late March. The second phase of reopening includes some nonessential businesses like hair salons and barbershops, and Julien Farel is preparing to reopen. If there was any question about the future of luxury salons post-pandemic, the waiting list of 1,000 clients and growing is a clear indication price is no object for many when it comes to their hair. Julien Farel runs the iconic salon in the Loews Regency hotel on the Upper East Side, with haircuts ranging from $160 to $400, and $1,000 for cuts with Farel.
Going to the salon during the pandemic is “going to be a bare-bones experience,” said Steven Sleeper, Executive Director of the Pro Beauty Association. “It’s going to be stripped down and back to the basics and getting your service and getting out,” he said. “It’s not going to be warm and fuzzy, at least for a while.”
Farel’s wife, Suelyn, oversees the business side and is putting protocols in place for cleaning, touchless payments, and social distancing. When they reopen they will only be providing hair services, and plan to bring back 50 of its 150 employees.
While Suelyn Farel says they have managed to pay rent for the 10,000-square-foot salon during the lockdown, she anticipates revenue to decrease by roughly a third this year. In late May Farel started doing house calls in the Hamptons as one way to bring in revenue, charging double his in-salon price. They could have made extra money cutting hair in the city during the lockdown, but decided against it.
“We have over 1,000 people on a waiting list,” Farel told Bloomberg in an interview. “85 percent of blondes have disappeared during the pandemic.”
