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WHO & WHAT: Legendary hairstylist Errol Douglas, Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), joined forces with celebrated photographer Andrew O'Toole to shoot our cover feature. "I've been working with Andrew for more than a decade," Douglas says. "He's one of the best photographers in the world, and I love and value our collaborations." WHERE: Street Studios, No. 2 Dunston Street, East London. WHY: This time around, Douglas joined forces with O'Toole to create his British Hairdresser of the Year category submission to the British Hairdressing Awards. THE NEED FOR SPEED: Over the span of two days this past July, Douglas created hair looks on 13 models, pre-cutting most of their hair at his salon in Knightsbridge, an exclusive district in West London, before coloring and styling their locks at the shoot. "Once Andrew got his shots, the girls were whisked away in a cab back to my salon where my team took them back to their original color," says Douglas. "That was a first for me." PINCH HITTER: The first fashion stylist Douglas hired encountered a snafu with her passport so stylist Thea Lewis stepped into the role. "I literally had been standing outside of my salon fretting about the ordeal when Thea, whom I'd worked with before, bumped into me while doing returns for another job," Douglas says. 'It was serendipity." MERCURY RISING: The shoot fell on two of the hottest days ever recorded in London. "We had to work quickly and efficiently because unlike studios in the United States, ours didn't have air conditioning,' Douglas says. "Fortunately, Andrew is one of those photographers who knows how to shoot hair, gets the models and understands how to make them love the camera so there was great energy on the set and everything flowed quickly." COMING ATTRACTIONS: Happy with the outcome, Douglas was all smiles as he talked about his upcoming agenda, which includes collaborations on shows, fashion week, further developments with his own electrical styling range, and plans to open salons in New York City and Paris. "It's quite exciting," he says. s-= -Kelley Donahue