Tori Gill

Tori Gill, 29 began her life as a hairdresser at the age of 15, at home in Scotland. She was a natural, winning apprentice of the year twice in 2008 and 2009 at Cheynes Hairdressing Studio in Edinburgh, followed by first place at the Cheynes Photographic Competition, which is held throughout the United Kingdom. 

She grew up as an avid follower of art and design, and brought inspiration from these worlds into her work as a hairdresser, garnering a reputation for her intuitive and idiosyncratic approach, which culminated with an invitation to style hair for Wella’s Trend Vision Opening Show, in 2009. 

Before moving permanently to Melbourne, Australia, Tori fell in love with the city while travelling the world in 2012. Upon returning to the UK, she witnessed a rise in the popularity of men’s hairdressing, deciding to pursue this new creative niche.

In the six years since moving to Melbourne, Tori has made no small impact on the hair industry in Metropolitan Melbourne:

•2014 first place IHS Men’s Session Stylist. 

•AHFA Australian Men’s hairdresser of the year - 2017- winner & 2019 – finalist)

•Australian Men’s Hairdresser of the Year at Hair Expo- 2018 & 2019 finalist

•Behind the chair 3x finalist (global competition)

•Mens hairdresser of the year AIPP Awards - (global competition) finalist 

•American Crew All Star Completion – five times finalist  

Tori has presented live on stage at the Barberella show in Los Angeles, California and the UK’s renowned barber convention, Barber Connect.  Editorial work has become a focus for Tori in recent years. As a stylist, her work has  been published in different magazines around the world.  Tori also directed mens hair at both Melbourne Spring Fashion Week 2016 &2017 and the MYER VAMFF fashion show 2018 as well as Fashion Aid in 2014 and 2016, respectively. 

At her current space in Melbourne, Paragon Studio, Tori has gained a large and loyal clientele, including a growing number of renowned Australian television and fashion personalities. At the new studio, Tori has furthered her passion for education, holding  seminars in progressive salons around Australia as well as overseas. 

Tori understands and appreciates that the job and role of a barber will continue to evolve and is not just about cutting and styling men’s hair. Today, a barber can be responsible for helping create a persona and help in making individuals as style ambassadors and icons.  Tori appreciates that to be the best and most accomplished barber requires a strong understanding of the industry and most importantly, the fundamentals of basic cutting, styling, colour theory and an overall grasp of the business of barbering. 

Tori now wants share her experiences, knowledge and inventive gasp of the industry to develop and nurture young talent and is passionate about the ongoing development from novices through to seasoned professional barbers. She is passionately committed to training and challenging the normal conventions in barbering, always seeking to explore and develop new ideas to challenge the industry norms. Tori hopes that you will join her in what is promised to be an exciting and fulling journey with her.