PARTNER
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PARTNER
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Sherri Renée Alternative Hair Couture begins with its visionary founder, Sherri Renée Romm.
A graduate of Information Systems/Computer Engineering from the University of Maryland and a Fine Arts major from the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), Sherri Renée combined her artistic and technical aptitude to become a sought-after Master Hair Architect and Designer when she founded Versacchi Studios in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1994.
Her passion for the arts and desire to help others have been the driving force behind her success. Sherri Renée spent the early part of her professional life in both the corporate and art worlds. She developed her business acumen as an independent information systems consultant to several Fortune 500 companies, including Bethlehem Steel, T. Rowe Price, IBM, Westinghouse, and BG&E.
In the evenings, she pursued her artistic passion for painting and sculpting while attending MICA. She has exhibited and sold her paintings in galleries and art shows throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Southern regions.
In 1992, a close friend was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Sherri Renée was deeply concerned by her friend’s depression, which stemmed not only from her diagnosis but also from the loss of her hair — her most precious physical attribute.
Drawing on her artistic skills and driven by compassion, Sherri Renée designed and partnered with a factory to create a human hair prosthesis that closely mimicked her friend’s natural hair. A local stylist was then engaged to cut and style the piece, completing the finished look.
It was at that moment that Sherri Renée saw her friend’s confidence and spirit return. She later reflected:“I was greatly inspired and knew this was a very powerful moment — not only for my friend, but for me as well. I realized my own life would be affected forever. I had found my calling.”
ReThink. : Alternative Hair As A Fashion Accessory
"Experiencing hair loss first hand was a gift of a sort. It forced me to experience the psychological effects of hair loss and how self-esteem is challenged by losing such an important part of our physical identity. Creating the perfect solution became my obsession.
I had to rethink alternative hair. Fifteen years ago, hair extensions were becoming very popular and warmly received by the public. Everyone was buying them. I thought if I could create small "accessory like" hair that addressed site-specific areas, then the public would embrace wearing hair in a more fashion-forward sense while addressing the problems of hair loss."
2012 - 2015 The creation of her signature hair enhancement collections.
Armed with an artist’s eye and an engineer’s obsession with detail, Sherri Renée created a unique collection of 100% handcrafted human hair enhancements and custom hair toppers designed for hair loss image recovery, volume for fine hair, cosmetic enhancement, and modern everyday convenience.
Featuring over forty patented design elements, her alternative hair collections include toppers, volumizers, bangs, parts, falls, ponytails and chignons, crowns, extensions, and full enhancements (wigs). Each natural-looking piece is artistically engineered, meticulously handcrafted by skilled artisans, and designed to reflect the authentic beauty of the wearer.
Defining Design Excellence : Understanding Form
"The foundation of design excellence starts with an extensive understanding of form: one of seven elements of art that connotes a three-dimensional object in space. While you may be asking "what does this have to do with hair enhancements?", trust me ~ everything.
When designing hair enhancements, one must consider the underlying head and neck anatomy. Head shape, size, contours, soft tissue vs underlying bone structure, proportion, and facial features represent the foundation on which form will originate. Having a clear understanding of an individuals' anatomical structure will encourage design excellence ~ providing seamless transition, "natural" comfort, and properly addresses the desired areas of hair enhancement."
Defining Design Excellence : Sourcing Free Trade Hair
Our free trade hair is respectfully sourced from Eastern Europe, Italy, and Indonesia and is designed to mirror the color nuances, texture, and uniqueness of its wearer. Equally as important to how authentic a wearer feels and looks, is knowing where and how the hair was sourced.
"It is important to understand that everyone has rights, and if life is to be sustainable, everyone’s rights must be recognized and no one exploited. If organizations, community groups, and individuals support and promote fair trade, they are contributing to the creation of a fair and sustainable global community."
1992 – 2012
Marks more than two decades of hands-on experience working directly with an extensive hair-loss clientele.
Sherri Renée has gained extensive experience in the diagnosis, design, and engineering of alternative hair solutions for a vast number of clients across the globe. She is widely recognized for her innovative work addressing alopecia, fine and thinning hair, chemotherapy/radiation-related hair loss, hormonal imbalance, autoimmune conditions, and trichotillomania.
Reflecting on her approach, she shares:“I am very curious by nature and have always asked how I can make things better — it is the artist and engineer in me. When I personally experienced hair loss after two pregnancies and a thyroid condition, I found even greater motivation to seek answers.”
Defining Design Excellence : Base Materials / What You Can't See
"It's very curious to look back and reflect on the experiences that lend inspiration to my designs. Among many, a major influencer happened on a long-awaited mom-daughter trip to Paris. Obviously, Paris has always been viewed as a style mecca for fashion, quality, and innovation.
While shopping, I discovered an exquisite lingerie boutique featuring french silks, lace, and organic cotton fabriques used in the finest French lingerie. I had this crazy idea that I could incorporate them into the bases of my enhancement designs. This would create a more lightweight, comfortable, and aesthetically pleasing ~ even impart a more feminine "feel" to alternative hair design.
That non-traditional thinking helped shape the interiors of our alternative hair couture."
Defining Design Excellence : Color In An Alternative World
Mastering the color component of alternative hair is crucial to delivering excellence to your client. Failure to deliver even basic color-matching results is not only unpleasing to the eye and promotes detectability, but lost opportunity for a beautiful outcome.
Mindfulness, observation, and color mastery breathe new life, aesthetics, and endless possibilities. The foundation of color mastery includes color mirroring (matching), observing chiaroscuro principles, color design/order refinement, and embracing gray (white) as a blank canvas to creating your alternative hair vision.
"My extensive background in fine art ~ painting and sculpting ~ has had a huge influence on how we approach the colorization of alternative hair couture. Our entire artistic paradigm views each enhancement creation as an "artistic endeavor" of sorts. Observing nature and understanding the underlying principles of color, shadow, and light and its effect on form frees us from the traditional approach to "hair restoration" and opens our creative minds to deliver extraordinary results."
2015 - Present
Alternative Hair as an Art Form
Momentum increased as word of mouth quickly spread among other stylists and salon owners, creating regional interest and prompting the formation of Sherri Renée & Co.
"Our fine art and engineering paradigm offers a refreshing, original perspective to the alternative hair industry. Combining fine design aesthetic and engineering with contemporary hairdressing invites exquisite beauty and many smiles on our clients' faces. Collaborating with like-minded hair designers | artists seemed natural. Sharing compassion for helping others look and feel better combined with a passion for creative work is what we do as beauty professionals."
Our Brand, Mission and Partners
The Sherri Renée brand expresses a vision that changes perception and establishes tastes for alternative hair in the global beauty marketplace. We integrate fine arts with engineering to create alternative hair couture that inspires beauty, contemporary lifestyle, and personal transformation.
Our professional partners are our real point of difference. Each hair professional is "trié Sur le violet" (carefully chosen) based on a strong commitment to cutting edge hairdressing combined with the passion, skills, and fortitude required to express alternative hair as an art form.