As the director of Toni & Guy’s China operations, it’s no surprise that Eric Choong has a passion for hair and fashion. But he also loves travel, parks and taking a break from the hustle and bustle. Find out where he finds his favourite flowers and his top hair trends for 2010.

What did you do before working for Toni & Guy?

While I am originally from Malaysia, I lived in Singapore for 10 years, followed by London for five years prior to coming to Shanghai. I also travelled widely as my work then was in the travel industry. I studied marketing and tourism and the focus of my work has been on service and international culture, which comes naturally to me as I like to explore and see things.

What attracted you to the hair care industry?

I believe it’s the passion for fashion that led me into this industry and I see hairdressing as a big part of it. I also like doing business, and running your own business is a good challenge. Humans keep growing hair and hair is an important part of what people see when they look at you – as well as what clothes you wear, how you do your makeup and so on – so hair is a good industry to be in. Service is an important aspect of hairdressing, and this is something I continue to dedicate my time to, as well as the operations, marketing and finance side of the Toni & Guy brand.

What makes Toni & Guy different from other hair salons in China?

Me and my partner opened the first Toni & Guy salon in China in 2003 and have since expanded across the country. Toni & Guy has a unique form of education and culture, and have now been around for 47 years, since starting in 1963. It’s also a global and professional brand with distinct ties to British culture. The brand is unique in that all stylists and technicians are trained in Toni & Guy academies and have to go through further training in either Singapore or London before they can become a professional hairdresser. Before we came to China, many people were just training in hair salons for a few years, and then calling themselves hairdressers. The academies also offer training so that both Western and Asian hair can be catered for, again something many other hair salons don’t have.

What are this year’s hot hair trends?

This year, the title of our collection is Interactive and we utilise multiple textures and variations in width, height and length. The focus is also on colours with a move away from pure colour to mixtures. For spring/summer 2010, there are two mixture colour trends of vanilla and ash or brown and blonde. We think the trend for the future is the hair spa and that’s why we’ve changed the traditional hair salon concept into a day spa offering head-to-toe treatments.

Let's talk more about your day spa. How did the partnership with Comfort Zone in Jinqiao come about?

It’s an Italian marriage, as Toni & Guy initially came from Italy before moving to London and Comfort Zone is from Italy as well. Comfort Zone has a good range of body and facial treatments, which means customers are offered a place where they can get everything done while still being mindful of the environment that Comfort Zone’s products offer. Customers can receive free consultations for hair, beauty and wellness in one place and this is unique in China.

Tell us a bit about Toni & Guy’s link to China’s fashion industry.

For the past 11 years, Toni & Guy has been part of London Fashion Week. We have also been the major hair care sponsor of Shanghai Fashion Week since it started seven years ago and we will be holding our own unique fashion show during this year’s Shanghai Fashion Week in mid-April. It will be a big party where we will do a lot of things with British rock music from the ‘40s, ‘50s, ‘60s up until now, as well as celebrating British culture in China at the same time.

Other than fashion, what else are you passionate about?

Having travelled all over the world and seen a lot, I like very cultural places. In Shanghai, the French Concession is a unique place where you can see old buildings and also the Shanghai's new sense of cultural community. Then there’s Taikang Lu where people can go to see the quiet side of the city; a place to break away from the city and enjoy a slower pace. It would be good if Shanghai could have more green parks for relaxation like in London. Century Park is the only park along those lines. I enjoy going to parks and a beautiful one with lots of flowers, which also holds a big peach blossom festival each year is situated in what was the Nanhui district, but which is now part of the Pudong area. Other than this, when I go out of Shanghai, I like to go to very small towns such as Zhujiajao which have their own originality.

Web: www.toniandguy.com