Latest news with #SamMcKnight
The Sun
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Davina McCall wows in a leather mini dress as she parties with Kate Moss and Patsy Palmer at star-studded bash
DAVINA McCall wowed in a leather mini dress as she partied with Kate Moss and Patsy Palmer at a star-studded bash last night. Presenter Davina, 57, flashed her legs in the trendy number while rubbing shoulders with plenty of celebs at hairstylist Sam McKnight's 70th birthday party. 7 7 Posing for snaps inside La Mome London, The Berkeley, she tightly embraced EastEnders legend Patsy - who looked chic in a green suit. The Masked Singer panellist went on to join Azzi Glasser and Yasmin Mills for some shots. Jaime Winstone was also in attendance, busting some moves in a navy mini dress. Kate Moss stunned in a black dress with colourful sequins while posing with birthday boy Sam on his big day. She risked an awkward run-in with DJ Fat Tony, whose wedding she snubbed just days before. The pair were not pictured together, with Tony instead beaming for snaps alongside fellow DJ Patsy. The Sun revealed this week how supermodel Kate pulled out of Tony's matrimony after learning her nemesis Fran Cutler had been invited. The British icon was lined up as a bridesmaid, alongside Towie star Gemma Collins and actress Claire Sweeney. But insiders said Kate pulled out when she discovered PR supremo Fran — her former friend — was attending the wedding in central London on Saturday. The pair got to know each other in the 1990s when Fran would plan parties for Jude Law and Sadie Frost — who were good pals with Kate. Davina McCall makes emotional surprise appearance on Britain's Got Talent as Amanda Holden fights back tears But their high-profile friendship ended in 2018, after Fran was said to have accidentally sent Kate a photo of her with a critical comment. A source said: 'Kate snubbing Fat Tony's big day was the talk of the wedding. 'He wanted to have Kate there. "But after she found out Fran was going, she said she couldn't make it. 'Tony is said to have known for a while that Kate wouldn't be going if Fran was. "She was really missed and the guests were talking about it. 'Fran was on great form but didn't say anything about it. "It's all rather sad that they couldn't put on brave faces to celebrate Tony's big day.' Long-time pal Tony, who wed partner Stavros Agapiou, previously said of Kate: 'I loved her from the moment we met. 'I'd make her Long Island iced teas and she'd get p***ed. "I'd tuck her under a desk.' 7 7 7 7 7
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Kate Moss risks run in with Fat Tony after supermodel 'snubbed' the DJ's star-studded wedding as they both attend Sam McKnight's 70th birthday
Kate Moss and DJ Fat Tony risked an awkward run in on Tuesday evening as they both attended Sam McKnight's 70th birthday. The supermodel, 51, reportedly chose to skip her best pal Fat Tony's star-studded wedding on Saturday, after learning her former friend Fran Cutler was on the guestlist. And Tuesday night marked the first event the pair had attended since the DJ's big day when he tied the knot with husband Stavros Agapiou. Celebrating Sam's birthday at La Mome, The Berkeley in London, Kate posed with the stylist for snaps as she opted for a black sequin party dress. Meanwhile Fat Tony, 58, was seen commanding the DJ decks as he kept it stylish in a navy jacket and matching trousers. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. He was joined by Stavros, 32, who opted for a quirky ensemble, pairing denim shorts with a checked shirt, striped tie and grey blazer jacket. The couple tied the knot in front of family and friends in a lavish ceremony at the Welsh Chapel on Saturday, followed by a fun-filled reception bash at the Londoner Hotel. Also attending the Sam's birthday celebrations was Patsy Palmer, Jaime Winstone and Davina McCall who were also all guests at Fat Tony's wedding. Patsy, 53, looked effortlessly chic as she opted for a satin light green suit jacket with matching shirt and trousers. Meanwhile Davina, 57, looked sensational in a black leather mini dress as she made sure to put on a very leggy display in her outfit. It comes after a huge array of famous faces were in attendance for the couple's special day including TOWIE 's Gemma Collins, Coronation Street 's Claire Sweeney, Patsy Kensit, and Boy George. However, missing from the action was Tony's pal of over three decades, Kate who was thought to be set to be a bridesmaid at the ceremony. According to reports, the supermodel snubbed the nuptials after discovering former Primrose Hill bestie, Fran, 62, was going to attend. Davina, 57, looked sensational in a black leather mini dress as she made sure to put on a very leggy display in her outfit (pictured with Azzi Glasser and Yasmin Mills) Fat Tony - whose real name is Tony Marnach - has been best pals with Kate since 1993, previously lauding her as 'incredible'. Speaking to MailOnline in 2022, the DJ praised the stunner for turning her life around from her notorious party girl youth, saying: 'It's about finding that inner happiness, and she's found it. What Kate's done with that is brilliant. 'Even the fact that she's bringing out a wellness range just show's you where she's at in life and how well she's done.' The hitmaker then sweetly gushed: 'She'll always be one of my best friends, she's an incredible person'. Ahead of his nuptials, it had been reported that Kate would be one of Tony's bridesmaids alongside reality star Gemma, 44, and soap star Claire, 54, while Tony previously revealed that he wanted Boy George as his best man. MailOnline have contacted representatives for both Fat Tony and Kate for comment.
Irish Examiner
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Sustainable beauty is the future: Here are my top picks for a green routine
How many beauty products do you go through each month? It may not feel like a lot, but when you factor in shampoo, shower gel, handsoap, and deodorant on top of your mascaras, perfumes, and powders… what's going into your waste bin can add up. The beauty industry, a particularly large global contributor when it comes to waste, has mercifully acknowledged this. Meaning, nifty beauty executives have attempted to combat our growing waste problem. Greenwashing (the act of labelling something as sustainable when it isn't) has a part to play, but there are excellent products out there that will allow you to be green while still indulging in beauty. Behold, my pick of the best. 1. BOSS The Scent (€121 for Him, €106, for Her, BOSS The Scent (€121 for Him, €106, for Her, A fragrance duo that anyone would love, with refillable bottles. BOSS is known for its fragrances, and with these two, you get compelling scents with sustainable tekkers. BOSS The Scent for Him is an ambery-woody-fruity fragrance that opens with the spicy freshness of natural ginger oil, while BOSS The Scent Eau de Parfum for Her pairs an ambery-floral-fruity fragrance with natural peach extract. 2. Sam McKnight, Pure Genius Natural Scalp Restoring Oil (€42, Cult Beauty) Sam McKnight, Pure Genius Natural Scalp Restoring Oil (€42, Cult Beauty) The world has gone mad for scalp care. And for good reason — we've been neglecting it for some time. Sam McKnight is the man responsible for some of the best heads of hair in the business — Kate Moss, Sienna Miller, to name a few — and when he creates something, he ensures it is entirely biodegradable. Formulated with 98% natural ingredients, his new scalp oil is housed in a 100% biodegradable oil-dropper and delivered in a box made from agricultural waste. It's also loaded with Omega 3 & 6, Vitamin E, and the clinically proven hero ingredient crinipan, which regulates sebum production, reduces excess oil, and fights dandruff — all in just 10 minutes, restoring harmony to the scalp. 3. Innersense Organic Beauty's Dry Shampoo Foam (€24.80, Cult Beauty) Innersense Organic Beauty's Dry Shampoo Foam (€24.80, Cult Beauty) Hate dry shampoo? This could change your mind. Innersense, a certified B Corp company, has created a sustainable, scalp-loving alternative to traditional aerosol formulas which absorbs oil while nourishing the scalp. Crafted with the brand's signature purity and plant-powered ingredients, including tapioca starch, witch hazel and certified organic honey, this is a non-aerosol formula that is both gentle and effective, elevating your hair without drying it out. 4. Doctrine Infinite Hydration Moisturiser (€34, Doctrine Infinite Hydration Moisturiser (€34, Doctrine is the real deal when it comes to sustainability, and one of the newer brands that gives me hope for the industry. Created by industry experts with an unwavering commitment to transparency, their ethos is hellbent on sustainable innovation. And as a result, they have some really great stuff. Their hero product is their cleansing balm, but their newest launch is this moisturiser. It is excellent, with a little going a long way. Smoothing, nourishing and reasonably priced, you can't go wrong. 5. Anam Cosmetics Glitter Eyeshadow (€15.50, Anam Cosmetics Glitter Eyeshadow (€15.50, Festival season is coming up. And, as such, so is glitter-purchasing season. Glitter is essentially coloured plastic, so if you want to cut back on your waste, I would suggest starting here. Thankfully, Irish brand Anam Cosmetics has an excellent glitter eyeshadow line. I have used them again and again, and they last the test of time as well as hold up against industry greats. Taupe and Gold are particularly wearable for those who've never ventured into glitter before. 6. Skin Rocks The Antioxidant (€87, Space NK) Skin Rocks The Antioxidant (€87, Space NK) This Caroline Hirons-founded antioxidant serum is laden with vitamin C as well as an array of top-shelf ingredients designed to brighten, boost and improve your skin's texture. It's the smart choice if you want a do-it-all serum that covers all your skincare needs, and it also comes as a refill; simply unscrew and replace. Oh, and save money in the process. 7. Nunaïa Superfood Cleansing Balm (€59, Nunaïa Superfood Cleansing Balm (€59, An innovative balm-to-milk cleanser that is 82% Certified Organic and genuinely brilliant. Removing even tough eye makeup while leaving skin soft and hydrated, Nunaïa is an ethical, sustainable brand built on morals you can believe in. 8. Salt of The Earth Natural Deodorant (€6.37, Salt of The Earth Natural Deodorant (€6.37, My favourite purchase of the past year. This award-winning, fragrance-free, unisex Deodorant Stick is made from 100% natural mineral salts. Designed to sit on the surface of freshly cleaned skin, it removes all traces of odour while also lasting a full year of use. The only thing is if you drop it, it smashes. If you manage to avoid that, I'm pretty positive you'll fall for this nifty stick too. Read More Life Hack: How to recycle your beauty empties and earn free replacements at the same time
Daily Mail
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Princess Diana's hairdresser says late royal had a 'filthy' sense of humour - and reveals what he thinks of Meghan Markle
Throughout his four-decades-long career, renowned hairstylist Sam McKnight has worked with more than his fair share of glamorous women. However, none, he says, have quite compared to his most prominent client, Princess Diana, for whom he created her famous blonde bob hairstyle. The celebrity hairdresser, 69, first met Diana in 1990 when he and makeup artist Mary Greenwell were hired by Vogue for a photo shoot with a secret celebrity. He recalled the moment he met the late royal, who was killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997, saying: 'Princess Diana comes bouncing up the stairwell. She stuck out her hand with a big smile and said, "Hi, I'm Diana' - both of us melted." In a new interview with The Telegraph, Sam remembered Diana as being 'so funny' - with a rather 'filthy' sense of humour. 'I loved her,' he said. 'She was so funny. She sent [me] these really filthy birthday cards from this card shop on Kensington High Street.' The 'void' left by Diana when she tragically lost her life at just 36 has never been filled, Sam said. 'There's never really been a replacement [for her],' he told the publication, before correcting himself. The pair went on to have a close working relationship for the next seven years, and Sam even travelled with Diana on her royal tours, including to India in 1992 'That's the wrong word. No one has ever fitted into that spot she created, there's been a void there.' Sam also revealed his feelings about the current state of the royal family, particularly on Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton. He lamented how 'sad' it was that Meghan left the royal family alongside Prince Harry in 2020, when they stepped down as senior royals and moved to the US. In the interview with the newspaper, he said: 'I think Meghan could have done an amazing job too, I really do. And I thought that was sad, you know?' However, he praised the Princess of Wales, who is married to Prince William and shares three children with him. 'I think Kate does a great job,' he said. Sam cut Diana's hair short for the Vogue cover shoot, shot by Patrick Demarchelier, and the resulting black-and-white photograph is now one of the most iconic photos of Diana ever taken. It showed the princess sitting on the floor of the studio and beaming up at the camera, dressed in a strapless satin gown with a string of pearls around her neck and a tiara in her hair. The stylist also expressed his thoughts on the Princess of Wales, saying she's doing 'a great job', and said it was 'sad' that Meghan Markle decided to break from the royal family (Kate and Meghan in the Royal Box on Centre Court at Wimbledon in 2019, a year after their bridesmaid dress row) Sam went on to work with Diana for the next seven years, even travelling with her on her royal tours. He went with her to India in 1992, where the now-famous photograph of the princess outside the Taj Mahal was taken. He spoke of her love of perming her hair, adding that the princess would have a 'sneaky perm' between the times he travelled back and forth from London to New York for work. In order to create her short hairstyle in the Vogue photoshoot, the stylist previously revealed he had to 'fake it a bit' before cutting Diana's hair. In 2021, he took part in British Vogue and YouTube UK's series of free masterclasses, Vogue Visionaries, and recalled the moment that led to Diana's iconic hairstyle. 'This was 1990, I made [Diana's hair] look short under the tiara - I faked it a bit... at the end of the day she said, "What would you do with my hair if I was to say, 'Just do anything'"?' 'And I said, 'I would cut it all off and just start again'. 'It was the beginning of the 90s and it was the time that I was doing a lot of shows and covers and a lot of the girls had short hair and we were moving from the big frou-frou 80s into the sharp, more androgynous, business chic of the 90s. 'So she said, 'Well, why don't you just cut it off now?', so I cut it off then and we never looked back.' Sam also used to be Prince William and Prince Harry's go-to hairdresser when they were young boys. However, earlier this year, he had some rather hard truths for Harry after seeing photographs of the Duke of Sussex at the Invictus Games in Vancouver and Whistler in Canada in February. Fans pointed out 40-year-old Harry's thinning hair at the back during the event, which did not go unnoticed by Sam. The A-list hairstylist shared photographs of Harry and advised him to either have a 'good short clip' or to 'sort himself out' with a hair transplant. 'It's time Harry!' he wrote. 'Many moons ago, when you and your brother were young boys, you both had the most magnificent, thick healthy crowning glories, just like mum. 'Many an afternoon was spent with me thinning and shaping the topiary! However, just like myself, the lush hedging is no more, a mere wisp or two of its former self.' Sam said his advice for Harry to clip his hair shorter - like William - would 'look sharp and clean, and take years off that handsome face'. 'If I were your age, I'd go for a transplant, so much more natural these days, unlike the plug plants of yore. 'And no need for a quick easyJet trip to Turkey, you're in California where they have the best! 'So Harry, from one baldy to another, it's time. As they say in Disneyland, 'Let It Go'. Sent from your old hairdresser, Sam, with love, a wink and a smile.'
Telegraph
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
‘Diana sent me filthy cards': The late Princess's hair stylist reflects on the golden years
Something is agitating Sam McKnight's pet cockapoo Stanley. 'Oh God,' he says in a drawn-out cadence. There are four neighbourhood cats perched atop the fence and Stanley is barking at them. 'They drive him mad!' McKnight smiles, then shoos them away. We're drinking tea around the kitchen table that looks on to the back garden of McKnight's impeccable double-fronted home. There's a copy of the new memoir by former Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter on the chair to my left, next to a vase of tulips in primary colours. The flowers, I assume, were plucked from the garden – which for April, McKnight insists, is in magnificent form. Gardening is his side passion. 'I love the solitude of it,' he says, explaining that it provides the perfect antidote to his day job as a hairdresser. 'On shoots I'm surrounded by people all the time. Gardening is my meditation.' To call Sam McKnight a hairdresser is to understate things wildly. McKnight is legendary, an image maker who's been a driving cog in the fashion industry's revolving wheel for five decades – an eternity in fashion years. And 2025 is a milestone year for him. He is marking his career's half-century alongside his 70th birthday. In early June he'll host a party at a swanky Knightsbridge restaurant to celebrate both – as well as his MBE, which he received in the King's 2023 New Year Honours list for services to fashion and beauty. Despite his undeniable status and success, he remains humble. 'Not only is he the world's greatest hairdresser, he is the industry's nicest man,' says Millie Kendall, founder of the British Beauty Council and a friend of McKnight's since the early 1990s. For today's photo shoot, at which he is the subject, he's wearing a Fred Perry polo shirt and Lululemon shorts with tube socks and Hunter rubber clogs, his limbs a sun-drenched shade of tawny. It is appropriate attire for a keen yogi and gardener but one who is, at his core, pure fashion. McKnight originally set out to be a teacher. 'When I left school I was at teacher training college and I hated it; I hated being a student.' He quit after two years. College wasn't for him, but hard work is in his blood. 'My dad worked down the coal mine and my mum at the local Co-op up until she retired – we didn't have any money,' says McKnight, who grew up in a village in Ayrshire. From the age of 14 he worked multiple jobs on weekends and during school holidays. He reels them off: 'I worked in a sock factory, a jeans factory… I was a window cleaner for a long time.' Eventually he landed a job at a friend's hair salon. 'I was washing hair and sweeping floors to make a bit of extra money. I loved the atmosphere. Hairdressing salons are electric places to work, there's lots of different personalities. And you're learning a skill,' he says with the enthusiasm of a beginner. But the dream was to break free. 'As a teenager the goal, really, was to get your driving licence and get out of town.' In 1975 McKnight went to London to visit friends, and decided then and there to move. 'If you think things are bad now, 50 years ago London was bleak. The buildings were black with soot… Britain was in a dark depression.' But, he adds, London also had an energy he was keen to soak up. He joined the salon Molton Brown (owned by Caroline Burstein, whose parents founded Browns, and Michael Collis). A trailblazer for natural hair and beauty, it used organic haircare hand-mixed in the basement, attracting high-profile clients. 'We weren't allowed to use electric hairdryers,' recalls McKnight, who learnt to dry clients' hair with his hands and a towel. 'You could get really great movement working with your hands – it's about allowing the natural oils to come through. I still use my hands a lot.' Vidal Sassoon's influence was beginning to slow. Geometric cuts and the artifice of backcombing were losing ground, which worked in Molton Brown's favour. As the salon seized the zeitgeist, it built a reputation for attracting the best hairdressers, and magazines plucked from Molton Brown's hub of talented stylists for photo shoots. McKnight was one of them. British Vogue came calling early on. 'Eric Boman was the photographer; we were shooting in the Park Lane Hotel. I remember being absolutely terrified. But I was hooked.' His big break came in 1982, when he received a call from New York. 'An agency was interested in representing me because of the work I'd done for British Vogue. I quickly realised there was actually a business in New York, which there wasn't in London,' says McKnight, who subsequently moved to Manhattan. Big-budget fashion was a seed that was about to bloom large… and unbeknown to McKnight, he was helping to pollinate the supermodel era. The timing was perfect. His first big US cover was with Brooke Shields for American Vogue. 'I arrived in New York for the early wave of supermodels,' he says. The debate around who was the original super remains unsettled. 'Janice Dickinson always said she was the first supermodel – and she's right,' McKnight insists. 'The term was coined for her – and Iman, Brooke and Patti Hansen.' By the mid-1980s there was a changing of the fashion guard, and McKnight had a front-row seat. 'There was all this young blood: Patrick Demarchelier, Steven Meisel and Peter Lindbergh were doing this new, loose kind of photography and [models] Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell and Linda Evangelista were coming up at the same time.' McKnight was travelling the globe non-stop shooting for British, American, Italian and 'a little bit of French' Vogue. 'We were on planes constantly.' McKnight and Demarchelier shared a taste for authenticity. 'I like to keep everything natural and light. I like hair that moves – and Patrick wanted the model's hair to have this reality to it.' Theatre, says McKnight, is best left for the catwalks. Being one of four hairdressers at the top of the fashion tree, along with Oribe (pronounced 'Or-bay'), Julien d'Ys and Garren, rivalry had to be fierce. McKnight is too polite to say, but he wasn't about to be left out. 'Oribe was doing the Azzedine Alaïa catwalk show, so I remember thinking I needed to do a show.' That show was Vivienne Westwood. The designer was using British models Naomi Campbell, Yasmin Le Bon and Saffron Burrows. McKnight added international talent to the roster. 'Naomi and I convinced Linda, Christy and Tatjana Patitz to walk in the Westwood show. It was spectacular – those shows went on for 40 minutes.' Working with Westwood proved serendipitous. One of the first times he met Kate Moss was backstage at a show. 'When she showed up I thought, she's never going to hold her own with those bandy little legs.' He giggles, then finishes his point. 'Kate had this power, you'd never have known she was six inches shorter than everyone else. And that's when people realised it wasn't just about how you looked, it was about the energy you give off.' I ask Moss for a comment on McKnight's career. The notoriously private supermodel replies within the day: 'I've grown up with Sam. He's done my hair for some of my favourite shoots.' She adds that he is 'a genius with a wind machine, but it is his spirit and laughter, both on and off set, that make him one of my greatest friends.' The supermodel era, McKnight says, was part talent, part timing. 'They [models] weren't so disposable. They were allowed to develop and come into their own,' he explains. 'Magazines were prepared to take risks and put an unknown face on the cover. That doesn't happen any more.' The cultural significance of the era's '90s peak isn't lost on him. 'We had a great time. There'll never be another moment like it. It's unrepeatable.' His eyes well up. In 2023, McKnight reunited with Cindy Crawford, Campbell, Turlington and Evangelista during the promotion of Apple TV+'s documentary miniseries The Super Models. 'Mary [Greenwell, the make-up artist] and I had dinner with all of them. It was the first time we'd all been in a room together for 25 years. There were a lot of tears. It was emotional.' He pauses. 'I've got a tear in my eye now.' McKnight's friendship with Greenwell has endured since the 1980s. 'I first met Sam when he gatecrashed my New Year's party in Paris just so he could meet me,' she jokes. 'We ended up talking all night. Sam is one of four original super-hairdressers – he's the inspiration for all the young hairstylists today.' Greenwell soon moved in with McKnight in New York. In 1990, Patrick Demarchelier and Vogue fashion editor Anna Harvey summoned Greenwell and McKnight to a studio in the East End of London for a photo shoot with an unnamed celebrity. 'Mary guessed it was going to be Margaret Thatcher, because of all the secrecy.' Thankfully, says McKnight, it wasn't. 'My mum would have been horrified. You can't mention Margaret Thatcher where I'm from.' In reality the model was stellar. 'Princess Diana comes bouncing up the stairwell,' says McKnight. 'She stuck out her hand with a big smile and said, 'Hi, I'm Diana' – both of us melted.' Somehow, during that shoot, Demarchelier convinced the Princess of Wales to sit on the floor. 'Patrick's French accent was very strong, indecipherable. He kept saying, 'Sit on the floor bébé. Bébé, sit on the floor,'' McKnight demonstrates, fondly mimicking the photographer. She found the whole thing hilarious. ''He wants me to sit on the floor? [But] I've got a ball gown on.' She was really laughing,' he remembers. 'And that's the picture,' says McKnight, at which point he jumps up and grabs a souvenir fridge magnet featuring the image he's just described: a beaming, bare-shouldered Diana, wrapped in a satin gown with a tiara nestled within her breezy new hairstyle, fashioned by McKnight. 'A friend bought this for me,' he says of the magnet as he places it back. The photo shoot led to a seven-year relationship between the Princess and the hairdresser, who was at Diana's side for many royal tours, including the one to India in 1992, where she was pictured alone looking forlorn in front of the Taj Mahal. During their early years together, McKnight delicately manoeuvred the Princess away from her fail-safe perm. 'I was back and forth between London and New York working – in between she'd often have a sneaky perm,' he says, laughing. Two years in, she adapted to McKnight's modernity, giving him carte blanche to style her hair as he saw fit, which by the mid-'90s meant a soft and understated look. Though McKnight is respectfully tight-lipped about what was said between them, their relationship ran deep. 'I loved her,' he emphasises. 'She was so funny. She was so funny,' he repeats. 'She sent [me] these really filthy birthday cards from this card shop on Kensington High Street.' He must miss her, I say. 'There's never really been a replacement [for her],' he says, quickly correcting himself. 'That's the wrong word. No one has ever fitted into that spot she created, there's been a void there.' McKnight remains a faithful supporter of the Royal family. 'I think Kate does a great job.' He pauses. 'I think Meghan could have done an amazing job too, I really do. And I thought that was sad, you know?' These days, McKnight's hair-product business is his bread and butter. He launched Hair by Sam McKnight in 2017 with four dry-styling sprays. 'It's about powerful products that work quickly using the best ingredients in very lightweight formulations,' he says, explaining that 'everything was so sticky, so heavy. I wanted to create something that you could brush out easily.' The first product McKnight created was Modern Hairspray, a flexible styling spray that has replaced the legendary Elnett in hairstylists' kits. The venture, which has grown to 25 products – including his latest, Pure Genius, a 98 per cent natural scalp oil in a fully biodegradable bottle – was initially funded by McKnight himself. By 2022, he had found investors and hired a CEO, Joel Edmondson, formerly of Deliveroo and McKinsey, with a 10-year plan to scale the business overseas. It paid off. 'The company is growing at 40 per cent year on year,' McKnight says, admitting 'we're in strange economic times'. Hair by Sam McKnight sells half of its supply online. As for bricks and mortar, it is stocked at Space NK and will soon launch at Marks & Spencer. 'M&S is really exciting for us. Their energy is really good, and no one has the visibility of M&S.' The plan is to expand in Europe, and then to America next year, a feat that looks increasingly tricky. 'Thankfully we are small enough to be reactive,' he says, alluding to looming tariffs. 'With what's going on it has made me think: 'I'm glad we haven't got a lot of shipments going to America.'' And yet scaling a business is not for the frail. 'I do lots [of things] to keep me active and flexible,' McKnight says, admitting, without any apology, that this includes using the weight-loss jab Wegovy. He has been on the medication for six months and has lost more than a stone, on advice from his doctor. 'Let's not demonise this [injection] because it can be really good. It's made me feel great,' he affirms. 'I tried [to lose weight] before, but I like eating, you know? Life is too short.' Sugar, he says, is his last remaining vice. He got sober decades ago, after an intervention by his friends Christy Turlington and Naomi Campbell. 'I had been out at a party with them in New York and the next day both said: 'You were a bit much last night.' And I stopped, just like that.' Surprisingly, he doesn't miss alcohol in the slightest. 'I didn't give up because I was an alcoholic,' he tells me matter-of-factly, then adds: 'Or, I probably was… I don't know. I didn't like the way it was making me behave, it was changing my personality – I never drank again after that.' His physical stamina is sustained through regular yoga, Pilates and circuit training. His thoughts on ageing are complicated. 'I used to do Botox, but it gets to a certain point when it doesn't really do much,' he explains. Then he throws in the possibility of a facelift. 'I went for a consultation for a lower facelift and blepharoplasty [eyelid surgery] with a plastic surgeon the other day. He's 'done' a few people that I know, and they look very very good.' McKnight doesn't strike me as someone who is chasing youth. 'I do so much filming now and when they catch me from the side… I've got no chin now, I'm losing my chin,' he says, referring to appearances on Celebrity Mastermind and Channel 4's The Big Blow Out, which he enjoyed immensely. 'They [Channel 4] didn't give it a chance,' he says of the show, which was cancelled after one season. 'I'm fine with ageing,' he sums up. 'It [the facelift] will just make me feel better.' But, he concedes, 'I have a horror of not looking like myself.' Is he miffed that, by launching their own beauty brands, actors and pop stars are muscling in on his territory? 'I think some of [the celebrity brands] are fantastic. Victoria Beckham's is amazing,' he replies. Listening to McKnight wax lyrical, it is apparent that his unbridled enthusiasm is, at 70, perhaps his greatest business asset. 'What it [his brand] is giving me now is a reason to live,' he says, then clarifies: 'I mean. It's given me a reason not to sit on my laurels and count my roses. And, my God, yes, it's about being useful and engaging my mind in a very different way. Because the other side of my work had become really repetitive.' Looking back on his career, McKnight has few regrets. 'They were the golden years,' he states unequivocally. 'I've always said it: I had the golden years.' As I get up to leave, I catch a glimpse of Carter's memoir, which is titled: When the Going Was Good: An Editor's Adventures During the Last Golden Age of Magazines. I ask McKnight what it's like. 'Oh, I haven't got round to reading it yet,' he says, eyeing the pile of other books beneath it. Something tells me he could have written the story himself.
