Profile

Amy Schiappa’s original four-chair Orchard Street parlor got so busy that she had to relocate to more spacious digs in late 2007, and her client base of artists, designers, and musicians has followed. Now a bustling seven-chair spot with a roster of ten stylists, Fringe’s space melds original architectural details—high tin ceilings, brick walls, ceramic tiled floors—with shiny new workstations and a rotating collection of works by local artists. Formerly an artistic director at Dop Dop and educator at Laicale, Schiappa can still be found mixing it up amid the buzz of hairdryers, gossip, vintage kitchen timers, and staff-chosen tunes, as she and her personally trained crew deliver the salon’s signature precision cuts and updated, more naturalistic interpretations of classic styles; think a sexed-up Shirley Jones, funky wedges, and (heroin-free) glam-rock coiffuring, often accompanied by the in-house favorite sculpted bang. Color products from old-school Redken and the ecofriendly Davines are in keeping with the classic-meets-modern philosophy, while to help reduce its carbon footprint, Fringe’s own line of hair-care products defers profits to the Natural Resources Defense Council. — Sarah Walker

To keep creative clientele from getting too, well, creative, Fringe offers its customers free bang trims between visits.