There's an underlying motivation of art and creation in everything that Troy Brennan touches. From the location of his salon in the basement of the old deco Paramount Pictures building in Surry Hills, to it's cryptic latin name, Illium Tonsor. From his fledgling self named fashion label, to his impressive list of clients, including UK artist Tracey Emin and Oz pop icon Darren Hayes. From his major inspirations - fine art, architecture, fashion and music, to his attitude to cutting.
'A good haircut can make someone bloom. Similarly, a bad one is like killing yourself, it's like seeing yourself in the same outfit as someone else'.
Brennan creates a wonderful image of his clients sitting in the salon.
'I see them as part of an instillation, as sitting in a gallery'.
He views the salon as an holistic artistic space, as a showcase for his own passion for fashion as well as a space for creating client's haircuts.
' I love dressing for work. For me the salon is a costume box, a place where I can dress up and clients can get dressed up too'.
For him, creating his own fashion label was a natural progression, an inevitable next step.
'It is essential we enjoy what we do and if one does enjoy what one does, one shines and everyone else shines with you - its that simple.'
 Image by Waded and Electric Art. Electric Art is a photo-manipulation and 3D graphic creative team. The
photograph was an advertisement to celebrate the creative team (who are all
featured in the photo) 'playing God' for 15 years.
His cutting trademarks are geometry and texture, partly led by his obsession for design and partly driven by his admiration for individuality.
'I love the sculptural aspect of hair. It almost mirrors the work of my favourite designers, Comme Des Garcons and Yohji Yamamoto. I love strong shapes. At the same time, every person's hair you have to deal with differently. I use lots of freehand when cutting, and never use a factory line approach'.
History plays an intriguing role in his ethos.
'The name Illium Tonsor is a mix of the latin plural for Troy and the word for barber.’
For him the basement 'barber' shop had a sense of drama that the ancient name encapsulated. And his earliest introduction to the world of hairdressing began at the tender age of 13, when he started doing casual work at Mount Isa unisex shop 'Salon Bomba'. This was when he realised there was a genuine interest there and soon after he and his mother started making an annual pilgrimage to Brisbane stylist Stelios Pappas. This was a real treat for them, even though he now giggles about the fact that it often ended in screaming matches over the finished style.
After a global tour of learning and duty via the UK, he ended up returning to work with Pappas and he still names him as one of his great mentors. His education culminated with a stint with contemporary hair legend Benny Tognini, which cemented his passion for the industry and led directly to his current approach to styling.
Asked what's ahead for him, Brennan says he'd like to expand his portfolio of celebrities and see his fashion label go global. With music another of his great artistic inspirations, you can imagine the whole picture already. There's a uniqueness to his goals and his approach that's singularly pure and already infinitely successful.
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