At the cutting edge of beauty and glamour, Emmanuelle Torres is Hair Stylist, Business Entrepreneur and Philanthropist, all wrapped up in one stylish little bundle. We caught up with the Chilli Couture owner and director to find out about the latest project she's got up her sleeve.
Leaving home when she was just 16, Emmanuelle Torres stepped out of sunny Broome and boldly into the business scene of Perth. She landed a job at one of Perth’s most acclaimed salons, Head Office Hair & Body, being trained by some of the top stylists and professionals in the hair and beauty industry.
After years of training and receiving her qualifications in both hairdressing and beauty therapy, Emmanuelle realised there was something she still wanted to achieve.
Now a successful business owner and entrepreneur, Emmanuelle is a woman who knows what she wants, where she’s going and how she’s going to get there – and she doesn’t like taking no for an answer.
“Its 1950’s glamour meets street funk,” is how Emmanuelle explains the style inspiration behind her hair and beauty salon Chilli Couture. That explains the graffiti wall and vintage chandelier. “It’s a clash of two genres, but it seems to work really well.”
Chilli Couture is chic, superbly marketed and magnificently decked out – not bad for a girl who just a few years ago had no business training at all.
Emmanuelle started the management side of her career by entering into a joint business venture, setting up a hair and beauty salon Chilli Creations before going solo and opening Chilli Couture in the heart of Northbridge. Between searching the internet for free business courses to investing time and money in training and attending networking breakfasts, Emmanuelle gives the impression of already being naturally business savvy.
Her clients are more than happy to talk about their own industries and skills while enjoying a colour treatment or reflexology massage. With a large customer base that is rapidly increasing Emmanuelle keeps her ears tuned in and eye (or mind) on the job.
“I want to give people an experience. This is a place where people can come and relax and enjoy their time while they receive their requested hair and beauty services.”
Emmanuelle opens Chilli Couture from 12pm til 9.30pm most nights to cater for people who work business hours. Her clients don’t just get a quick in and out service but are treated to an Indian head massage or a foot spa as part of the pampering. “This is a place for chilling. People don’t want to come in here and have products pushed on them.” Emmanuelle personal attention for every client means there are only one or two clients in the salon at a time. It makes you feel as though the salon is open just for you.
Emmanuelle’s latest project has seen her team up with Vivid Red Skin owner and skin rejuvenator Victoria Dunn. Both girls have created a number of workshops designed to educate and inspire young Indigenous Australian women about the hair, beauty and fashion industry.
The new project known as ‘Styling Up’ will aim to give young women confidence in themselves, basic tips on personal grooming, education on how to get into the hair and beauty industry, goals and aspirations and grooming standards needed in order to seek employment both in their communities and in the metropolitan areas.
“We want to provide these young women with the skills they need or a least guide them in the right direction, we want to be a positive role model for many young indigenous women to look up to”, expresses Emmanuelle.
Both Emmanuelle and Victoria are part Indigenous Australian and feel a great need to help out the community.
Having travelled throughout Australia, mainly Western Australia and the Northern Territory Emmanuelle has come across a number of remote communities and was asked to share her experience at these schools about how she has become so successful and how others can achieve their goals.
“Many people in these remote communities don’t have a lot of positive role models to follow, we want to target the young women in these communities and give them hope, showing them that there are avenues to go down. We want them to know it is ok to achieve, it’s ok to want to do something different and to do things like dress up beautifully, style your hair and put on make-up”.
Victoria and Emmanuelle are hoping to travel to these remote communities in places like Fitzroy crossing and Kununurra where they will deliver workshops in beauty, hair, fashion and modelling. They will offer one, two or three day workshops with the three-day workshop including a catwalk photo shoot. A modelling scout from Sydney is currently looking for Indigenous Australian models and the girls are hoping to discover some talent on their travels and maybe give a few lucky girls the chance at a modelling career.
Emmanuelle and Victoria say that, “we want to target the Perth area as well, not just remote communities but at the moment many communities don’t have access to these types of services and we would love to make a difference in their lives".
Chilli Couture is anything but mild. With a funky atmosphere, the latest in hair and beauty treatments, and the marketing and social responsibility aspects covered, you can be sure to hear more about this little Northbridge gem in the future.
Emmanuelle is in her element. “I’m loving my little salon” she says, "and I always knew I wanted to be my own boss”. She’s a one woman show, set to make her mark all over Australia and with a touch of glam- of course.
Chilli Couture
www.chillicouture.com.au
By Hayley Davis
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