THE man who claimed to be A-list actress Nicole Kidman's
hairstylist has come clean.
Now, Mr Jonal Chong says he has never touched her golden
tresses.
It is a reversal of the claim he has been making - a claim
marketing experts say reflects today's obsession with celebrities
as much as it does the beauty industry's competitiveness.
The 48-year-old managing director of Jonal Chong Hair Couture
yesterday apologised to the public and pledged to stop using the
actress' name in advertisements and fliers for his Orchard Central
salon.
He also admitted to lying about American actress Katherine Heigl
and British actor Hugh Grant being his clients.
Suspicions were raised when my paper reported that he may have
doctored a photograph of Ms Kidman to make it appear like he was
standing next to her.
Meeting The Straits Times near his salon yesterday, he made it
clear he was angry about the newspaper reports, although he seemed
in equal measure to be anxious for a way out of his trouble, now
that the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) was
investigating his claims.
After a while, he confessed he had lied, but still looked and
sounded angry: 'I've never done Nicole Kidman's hair before. I'll
not use her name for advertising anymore. I sincerely apologise to
the public.'
Asked why he lied and whether the photo was doctored, he clammed
up. When pressed, he stormed out of the cafe, only to return
seconds later to demand if the paper would report that he had
walked out on the interview.
Then he said pleadingly: 'I hope the public will give me another
chance.'
He pointed out that he had not ridden on Ms Kidman's fame to
charge high prices. Haircuts at his salon start at $13, and hair
colouring and treatments at $38.
But he is sticking to his guns about having been a hairstylist
in London from 1997 to 2005, and about having taken 'more than 10'
hair-styling courses at the Vidal Sassoon School there.
No one might have questioned the photograph of him with Ms
Kidman, except that an almost identical photo of her with director
Alejandro Amenabar is available online, and is captioned as having
been taken in Los Angeles in August 2001.
In both pictures, she is in a black dress with silver stripes;
Mr Amenabar and Mr Chong appear with her in identical black jackets
and blue shirts.
When the report alleging that the photo was doctored came out,
Mr Chong claimed he did not know why the pictures were so alike,
and said he would call Ms Kidman so she could clarify things.
Singapore Polytechnic marketing lecturer Andrew Lee said the
hairstylist took a short cut to stand out from the pack in the
beauty services industry: 'Celebrity endorsements capture the
attention of consumers and break through the clutter of other ads.
They also foster an instant trust for the brand. Many consumers
view having the same stylist as a celebrity as a status
symbol.'
But name-dropping can only get one so far, he added, because in
the long term, quality and service matter more.
Those in the industry agree.
Mr Shunji Matsuo, who has a dozen salons in the region bearing
his name and who has styled Hollywood actress Uma Thurman and
supermodels Cindy Crawford and Naomi Campbell, said a hairstylist
with celebrities in his portfolio can get a jump ahead in his
career.
He said of Mr Chong: 'He should not make up stories. Clients are
important, but you can't make up your past and expect success.
Honesty and talent are most important in our industry.'
As for Mr Chong's real customers, one of them, Madam Chia Swan,
53, has had her trust in him shaken. The housewife, who bought a
$500 package at his salon, said he did 'wrong' to mislead
people.
But new client Nori Safawi, 46, who also bought a $500 package,
said: 'The haircut and service are good, and the price is
reasonable. I'll come back, despite the problems the salon
has.'
However, users of online forums like flowerpod.com.sg claim it
uses hard-sell techniques and offers poor service.
Case told Mr Chong yesterday that it would drop the matter if he
stops his misleading advertisements.
