American Crew has plenty of reasons to celebrate this year. In addition to commemorating its 25th anniversary, the company’s successful Fiber brand has grown to include two new products: Fiber Cream and Fiber Grooming Foam. What’s more, founder David Raccuglia recently teamed up with Global Artistic Director Paul Wilson to create a new body of work—seen exclusively on these pages—that’s diverse, strong, stylish and innovative. “We are in an awesome time in the evolution of men’s hair,” says Wilson. “We’ve seen barbering become an art form, and men are reaping the benefits. This collection gives us the opportunity to showcase the American Crew perspective on how trend meets classic using Fiber Grooming Foam and Fiber Cream as well as classic Fiber. They’re the perfect tools to tell the story of how groomed finishes and natural textures work in unison.”
Paul Wilson complements the era of aggressive clipper work with this textured yet controlled shape cut entirely with a razor. After detailing the look with isolated slide-cutting for support and movement, he applied a moderate dosage of Fiber Cream to damp hair, then loosely blow-dried it with a Mason Pearson brush to control yet maintain its natural wave.
“This familiar classic pomp look has a liberal amount of detail work to create movement and a sustainable shape,” says Wilson, who shear-cut the sides and back with vertical sections. After horizontally connecting and overdirecting the top for the perfect balance of length retention and weight removal, Wilson used a razor to directionally build support. He then worked Fiber Grooming Foam throughout damp hair before styling it with Fiber Cream.
To achieve this look, which was inspired by the boxer from American Crew’s Master of Men’s Grooming educational series, Wilson razor-cut vertical sections through the sides and back, then moved on to rotating sections in the transition and top with sawtooth point-cutting for aggressive texture. He achieved detailing with a razor, and applied a heavy dose of Fiber on damp hair before loosely pushing it into place.
To create this look, Wilson shear-cut the shape, retaining a moderate amount of length while building the bottom half of the cut. After applying Fiber Cream to damp hair, he blow-dried it and coaxed it into shape with a Denman brush.
For this look, Wilson shear-cut vertical sections through the sides and back, overdirecting low in the transition and creating a natural disconnection. He cut the top, overdirecting to the stationary guide, before using a shear-over-comb technique low to finish the perimeter. Next, he applied Fiber Grooming Foam to damp hair and used a Denman brush and a blow-dryer to create a controlled base throughout the sides and back, then he used his fingers to elevate the top and maintain natural texture before reapplying Fiber Grooming Foam to complete the look.
Photographer: David Raccuglia
Makeup: Erin Lee Smith
Fashion styling: William graper