I first met Luke Baker when I was working for David LaChapelle and at the time, living in his West Hollywood home. As a single girl occupying a three bedroom house, I was subject to entertain the occasional random guest of the studio. Without failure, each visitor posed as an opportunity for a new friendship and at the very least, an interesting number of days to follow.
To this day, Luke refers to me as “Molly Myspace”, a name which although pronounced in the same quirky and posh British accent I can easily recognize as Luke’s, sounds as foreign and distant as the life I once lived in southern California.
Luke was flown to Los Angeles from New York City as a hairstylist for a Sky Vodka shoot we were producing at the studio. This was the first of many visits, most notably his arrival to style the hair for our Elton John music video, “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”. (Notice me on the floor in the polaroid above, dazed and lifeless but not without a flawless Isadora bob.) I went on to wear this wig on several other occasions, my favorite being, (at the request of David,) at his gallery opening at the Palazzo Reale Museum during Milan Fashion week in ‘08.
Over flutes of champagne and relaxing in the jacuzzi after several long days of shoots, Luke spoke to me as a mentor and gave advice regarding my future that I still recall and cherish to this day. When I last saw him, he advised me with a similar wisdom regarding the state of the industry as affected by the current economic crisis. He advocated perseverance, endurance, and most importantly, hope, and last night when I saw him for an impromptu hair cut, his current portfolio served to sanction this advice.
His work is featured on several upcoming covers of W Magazine, as well as Pop, and somehow I’m sure this is only the beginning of an incredibly climactic success in 2010.
I arrived at Luke’s apartment last night with a hairstyle so overgrown that I could not even salvage it with my impenetrable go-to: hair gel and a marc jacobs clip. Desperate for his expertise, I sat down before the mirror and as he combed my hair with a large paddle brush, I interrupted his inquiry of what I wanted with an almost abrasively urgent “do whatever you want”. He is an artist, and an extremely talented one at that, and I consult him with only the greatest of confidence and trust. While he worked, I admired his current covers and delighted in his recent stories of success.
I left Luke’s apartment with an overwhelming enthusiasm for his well deserved good fortune, a favorite new hairstyle, and again, a mind full of wisdom from a genuinely wonderful friend.
