While so many of us in the hair industry already view Garren as a bonafide hair icon, his most recent award certainly just cemented his status. The legendary hairstylist and co-founder of R+Co and R+Co BLEU was honored with the “Icon Award” for his decades of inspiring work at the annual Met Artists Dinner, which took place at Mr. Chow in New York City on Monday, May 6th.
For those unaware, the Met Artists Dinner is a celebration of the incredibly talented hairstylists, makeup artists, and nail artists behind many of the Met Gala beauty looks. The intimate dinner, which was founded by makeup artist Troy Surratt in a private room ten years ago, has grown to be a famed tradition, attracting attention and participation from the beauty world’s most renowned talents.
This year’s event, which was presented by Violet Grey and Instagram, honored the 10th anniversary of bringing together the industry’s brightest stars after fashion’s biggest annual event, the Met Gala. Surratt hosted the festivities along with hairstylist Nathaniel Hawkins, Violet Grey’s current chief brand officer Sarah Brown, makeup artist Harold James, Instagram’s head of beauty partnerships Kristie Dash, celebrity hairstylist Nai’vasha Grace, and celebrity hairstylist Jacob Rozenberg.
In recent years, the Met Artists Dinner has made a point to honor one of its own members with the Icon Award.
Speaking on how it feels to be the 2024 recipient of the award, Garren shared, “It’s wonderful. I’m very happy about this honor. I have been reflecting, and have all of these feelings that bring back the journey I went on, and so many great memories along the way. I have to thank everyone I worked with, the R+Co team, my mentors—Polly Mellen, Irving Penn, Steven Meisel, Jade Hobson—there are so many of them.”
Dubbed the “Godfather of hair” by Vogue, and a genius by Madonna, Garren is an incomparable beauty authority with a storied career that spans five decades. His work has graced the covers of thousands of magazines and he’s transformed the hair of nearly every industry icon—from Victoria Beckham, Naomi Campbell and Karlie Kloss to Audrey Hepburn, Christy Turlington, and Linda Evangelista. Decade after decade, Garren has been trusted by the fashion industry’s leading photographers, designers, and celebrities to create their trademark transformations
Over the past half-century, Garren has continued to push boundaries and dictate trends in the hair and fashion space. In 2014, he lent his knowledge and expertise to launch beloved haircare brand R+Co with co-founder Howard McLaren and Thom Priano. Led by a collective of the world’s top editorial stylists, the cutting-edge haircare line was built around the idea that collaboration is key to creating the best products that our industry offers. R+Co recently just celebrated its 10th anniversary, and now with the addition of its sustainability-minded couture sister collection, R+Co BLEU, and professional hair color line, R+COLOR, the brand continues to grow and embody the culture of hairdressing.
“We are so proud of Garren on his receipt of the Icon Award last night at the Met Artists Dinner,” says Dan Langer, Group President, LBP Prestige Hair Group/ President at R+Co. “Garren is a true Icon—it’s not just his immense talent, but his approach to beauty and fashion. What makes this even more special is that he received it surrounded by the top artists in the world.”
To follow along with Garren and get a behind-the scenes look at his illustrious career in hair, be sure to follow @garrennewyork on Instagram. And for all things R+Co and R+Co BLEU, make sure to follow @randco and @randcobleu on Instagram.
