Suave Saunders & Long launch the boyfriend jeans of haute men’s grooming

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Jun 14, 2019

The latest addition to the happening sector of sophisticated grooming is Saunders & Long; a suave yet snappy new brand that launched with a certain scissor-like panache this week in London.
 
The marque is the brainchild of film producer Nick Saunders and the man known as the Clooney of Clippers, Jonny Long. A legendary wizard with the scissors, Long owns the Lockonego salon in Chelsea; where everyone from David and Victoria Beckham, to Leona Lewis have gone for a cut.

 
Their goal: develop a new British luxury hair and skincare line for guys on the move. Like male uber model Johannes Huebl and photographer Greg Williams, who will both be both partners in the business.
 
Huebl is also the Global Brand Ambassador, assisting the team in the research and development of the product formulations and fronting the image. Williams works within the James Bond 007 franchise, and backstage reportage at the Oscars, Golden Globes and BAFTAs has earned him a significant online fanbase. His bold images of Huebl for Saunders & Long were on display in that famed emporium of fine taste, Fortnum & Mason, for the launch.

“It’s the boyfriend jeans of men’s grooming,” quipped Long, who set up a hair salon for his hipster clientele in Fortnum & Mason over the weekend. 
 
The two British gents have pulled together a dream team for the project, whose branding is a smart meeting of Art Deco designs and tech-y finish.
 
Nick and Jonny have partnered with several high-level experts in developing their product line. These include Klaus Heidegger, former co-president of Kiehl’s; and Stephen Musumeci, former chief chemist of both Kiehl’s and Bumble & Bumble, who worked closely with Long over two years to develop the unguents, creams and sprays.
 
They have also tapped the noted nose Francois Robert to create their scent and Steven Sharp, one-time executive director of marketing and creative director at Marks & Spencer, to be chairman of Saunders & Long.  

 
The products have a sleek feel about them, with a practical finish – light years away from the precious attitude of far too much men’s skin and haircare lines. They all express Long’s knowledge of the male and female grooming space, garnered from a quarter-century of expertise in the industry.
 
Besides Fortnum & Mason, the line is available in The Barber at Alfred Dunhill and on their own new website.
 
Sagely, there is little much pain at the cash register when it comes to purchasing Saunders & Long.

Prices vary from £26 for 250ml for 'The Long Weekender' - a novel patent-pending, 5-in-1 product that combines shampoo, conditioner, body wash, shaving cream and a dry hair styling product - to £52 for 15ml of eye cream, enriched with nourishing vitamins A, B, C and E, and formulated with a cream base, as opposed to gel.

And the 'Poly Wax' at £26 for 50g – a formula that combines silicone and styling polymers to create a malleable wax that provides texture and hold with a shine finish.