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"French hairstylist Odile Gilbert can trace back her fondness for beautiful things to her youth. \"I always loved hair, makeup, and clothes as a girl. It's a part of being a girl\u2014bags, jewelry, clothes, shopping!\" she says. \"I love everything about fashion.\"\n\nFor the fashion industry, the feeling is undoubtedly mutual. Odile started her career as an apprentice at a Paris salon back in 1975, and today, she is one of the most highly sought hairstylists for many top designers. With an imagination and skill that transforms styling hair into an art form, Odile is a fixture backstage at fashion shows, from haute couture (Chanel, Christian Lacroix, Gaultier Paris, Armani Priv\u00E9) to ready-to-wear (Rodarte, J. Mendel, Bottega Veneta, Hermes, to name just a few). She credits her amazing coif creations to her collaborative relationship with the designers. \"It's essential to have a dialogue with the designer. It's an exchange of energy,\" she explains. \"Sure, you have the clothes, shoes, bags, jewelry; but the hair is important, because it's a part of the person\u2014you cannot escape from it!\"\n\nThough Odile is usually busy jet-setting between shows and photo shoots, she found time to mastermind the whimsical hairstyles of the main protagonist in Sofia Coppola's 2005 film Marie-Antoinette, played by Kirsten Dunst. The next year, the French Minister of Culture and Communications honored Odile with the medallion of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres, an award given in recognition of significant contribution to the arts.\n\nBut no matter how long the list of accolades gets, Odile still approaches her work with a wide-eyed wonder. \"I feel blessed to be able to work around beauty. It's quite incredible!\"\n\nclick here for Odile runway looks from Spring 2008 &amp;gt;&amp;gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.teenvogue.com/story/odile_20080204>