Frederic Aspiras, who is Fil-Vietnamese, garners praise for his work as Lady Gaga’s hair stylist in House of Gucci. He is nominated under the Best Makeup and Hairstyling Category in the 94th Academy Awards.
Aspiras shared with CNN Philippines how he felt about the nomination. “It feels wonderful. I am still smiling from all the excitement and just the thought of only being the second Asian to ever be nominated.”
Through an Instagram post, Lady Gaga shared her admiration for Aspiras. “Frederic was magical, precise, and dedicated months leading up to shoot and during filming.”
The two have been working together for 15 years. Lady Gaga enthused over Aspiras’s work ethic, “He’s a living genius and Freddie, we are all so grateful to just even be near your talent, creativity, and generosity of spirit.”
The prominent hair stylist said that it took him six months to complete all the wigs. He shared that out of all 400 looks that he prepared, 52 made it to the big screen.
Aspiras also relayed his humble beginnings. “When I first started, I didn’t set out to be a celebrity hairstylist. I just wanted to do great work and be part of an artistic community that understood my type of art.”
Shortly after moving to Los Angeles, he took a chance by accepting an offer from an agent who was looking for a hairstylist for then-budding artist Lady Gaga.
Aspiras shared a couple of hopeful words for aspiring hair stylists, “Sometimes you just have to take chances on yourself in life and really put yourself out there. I think one of the chances I took really paid off.”
He recounts his journey and expresses pride in what he has achieved. “I’m very proud of the work we’ve done in 15 years. It’s quite a journey to be with one artist for such a long time but when I look back at it, I’m seriously proud of this journey so far.”