Eugene Souleiman prefers the sidelines. Unlike other, more well-known hairstylists, he doesn’t have a line of products or even a salon: Souleiman is purely an editorial, backstage guy with a low-key, very un-diva-like approach to working in the high-pressure pre-show environment. He’s a cult stylist, an unseen magic man who works with Edward Scissorhands-like precision, translating a designer’s intangible directions and reinforcing the essence of a collection without upstaging it. His tools are simple: he goes through about twenty brushes (per season), plus bottles of Tonic Lotion by Bumble and bumble, and straightening irons. On average, he styles about 30 girls per show, and about 30 shows per season. It adds up to at least 900 heads in a four-week period. Here, some of his special effects.