Gaining popularity for the same reasons as Tracey Cunningham’s ombre, Johnny Ramirez’s Lived In Color™ or George Northwoods’s Flob, David Gogoi’s Faux Fringe is a low-maintenance modern look, chock full of everything we love about fringe, without any of the upkeep.
From models embracing them on the catwalk and celebs on the Red Carpet, the fringe has gained tremendous popularity in the past few seasons. However, although certain face shapes, hair types, and textures have the natural ability to effortlessly rock a fringe — others, like myself, are not as blessed. Therefore, my interest in fringe has naturally waxed and waned over the years, reaching peak envy recently with the rise of Daisy Edgar Jones in all of her Normal People glory — a fringe so widely popular fans generated its own fan account @Mariannesbangs, on Instagram.
Terrified from previous mishaps, a.k.a cutting my own fringe after too much wine on a Friday night in my early 20s, I had learned my lesson and since then have never been quite ready to willingly take the plunge into “fringe territory” or anything close to it. After chopping off nine inches of my hair, pre-pandemic into a soft undercut lob, I was hesitant to make any sudden changes, yet I still craved one nonetheless.
Upon moving to a new city, and fearful of cheating on my long-time L.A. hairstylist, friend, and mentor, I decided my mop desperately needed to be shaped. 14 months since my last pre-pandemic cut and London water wreaking absolute havoc on my hair, I feared I couldn’t wait any longer. Going down a rabbit hole of Instagram and scouring salon after salon and mindlessly scrolling through stylist after stylist, I met my match.
Salons had just opened up in the UK and the account of David Andrei Gogoi of Hershesons caught my eye. His cuts were slightly different than most other stylists I’ve seen. His posts were educational and his cuts showed off a client’s natural texture while creating the right type of face frame and movement without an excess of styling. The perfect haircut for anyone that wants to be able to air-dry their hair with ease or heat style it to perfection.
I jumped on an open appointment and made my way to Berner Street. It was the first salon I had been in since the start of the pandemic and I can’t tell you how refreshing it was to be back in this environment — more on that at a later date.
Hailing from Romania, David has worked in a salon his entire life. Both of his uncles were hairdressers and he began his job, as most of us did, sweeping hair at their salons. At the age of 16, he began his career on the floor and eventually found his passion by specializing in haircutting. Four years ago, he made his way to London and is currently at Hershesons on Berner Street, David is making a name for himself by creating a new movement, literally.
Upon returning from my cut and posting a shameless selfie, countless friends asked “Are those bangs?” My answer was, they are, but they aren’t! To me, they’re somewhat of a faux fringe. Much like the no-makeup, makeup look; they are a perfectly tailored face-frame that allows me to air-dry my hair with ease, creates a gorgeous amount of volume in the area around my temple (a spot that is prone to quickly fall flat), and enjoy a flattering softness around my face when I decide to wear my hair pulled back.
During the consultation, to which I showed up with a half blow-dried mess of dry, tangled hair, I told David what I was looking for alongside my laundry list of hair history. David explained that he wanted to take some length off to get rid of the damage and then create a slight face frame to open up my style. He then cut and texturized my hair with a healthy weight line, and used point and slide cutting, all while wet. As he began to rough-dry and tousle my hair, he took the time to show and tell me secrets to styling my new haircut, something that I honestly don’t get often enough. Finishing with a tong and a few products to enhance the final finish, I was absolutely beaming behind my mask when it was finished.
He had somehow, taken a girl who’s never been able to pull off fringe before and given me the perfect face frame with a faux fringe. He explained that if I ever wanted to go shorter we could, but because this was a new look for me, he didn’t want to do anything drastic at first — a sentiment any client can appreciate.
Visiting David’s Instagram page, @davidandreigogoi, you can scroll through plenty of pictures for inspiration as well as in-depth cut and style advice that applies to both the stylist and the client. Taking the time to discuss his signature style, David admits that even if a potential client doesn’t have the opportunity to visit him personally, he hopes these videos serve as a guide for others, to be able to get the trend wherever they may be.
While the look is already spreading like wildfire in London, we expect to see David’s Faux Fringe pick up in markets around the world.
Cover Image Credits:
Model: @nicolaachilleas
Haircut: @davidandreigogoi
