Exactly a year ago, London-based hair and wig stylist Sarah Wood – founder of Necia’s Hairstyling – received a message that just had to be a hoax.
“It was from Michael Handler [Beyoncé’s executive assistant] saying ‘Miss Carter Knowles wants you to make these wigs,” Sarah tells GLAMOUR. Far from a prank, the email was in fact very real, with a request to create a wig wardrobe of 12 different looks for visuals appearing on-stage at the singer’s Cowboy Carter tour – which has finally arrived in London.
“Everything that she picked out were my creations, which is amazing because you often get asked to recreate something that somebody else has done,” she says. Locking herself away for two weeks to get the mammoth task complete, Beyoncé was there in spirit throughout the process. “I dedicated all my time, I don’t think I spoke to anyone else other than my husband who arranged all the logistics to make sure the wigs were safe in the boxes and made it on time,” the hairstylist continues. “I listened to the entire Cowboy Carter album over and over again while I was working.”
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Eagle-eyed fans have already spotted Sarah’s work blown up on the giant star-shaped screen night after night on the tour. If you’ve not managed to get tickets this time around, the hairstylist has given a sneak peek on her Instagram account as more looks from the visuals drop throughout the tour. From a bouffant updo accessorised with bunny ears, to classic 70s curls given a modern twist in baby pink, and vampy V-shaped bangs – each wig totally transforms Beyoncé into a different character. Famously, a pernickety, detail-oriented Virgo, waiting for her feedback, Sarah was understandably nervous. “It was a privilege and I got no notes from Miss Carter, which is wild,” she says. “I’m going to save that forever.”
While Queen B is among Sarah’s newer clients, she boasts a back catalogue of other icons – like Dolly Parton and Dita Von Teese – and upcoming talents including Raye and the electric Amy Taylor, frontwoman of punk band Amyl and the Sniffers. “She’s hot shit right now,” she says. “I gravitate towards people that I absolutely adore and stand for what they’re doing.”
