IT'S all gone a bit retro for staff at Haringtons on Bedford Place, the undisputed hairdressing capital of Southampton.

The iconic 90s look of former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell is back in as the most popular current trend.

Stylists are seeing lots of requests for money piece hair, a new colouring technique for creating face-framing highlights.

Heather Emmett, senior manager for the Southampton salon, told the Daily Echo: "It's all a bit Geri Halliwell with bleach pieces at the front. But it's a lot softer, tending to be around four or five shades lighter than the rest of the hair.

"We're also being asked for a lot of short hair cuts. I think people have got fed up with lockdown long locks. We're getting lots of complete changes where lockdown has allowed people to have a bit of thinking time."

Heather has been cutting hair for the company since before the Spice Girls were even a thing.

She started out in 1991, just after Storm Hairdressing launched opposite popular French bistro Langleys.

The salon moved to its current location, the historic building Trinity House, just after Haringtons, a national chain with a similar outlook to Storm, took over the business.

Many of Heather's clients have become good friends over the years and she often features in weddings and special occasions.

"That's the joy of it," she adds. "Even after I've been cutting someone's hair for 25 years, I never get bored. Their circumstances change and we go with something different. It doesn't have to be drastic, but a cut and colour can completely change the way someone carries themselves. It's the best feeling in the world really. You make someone feel confident and that's really powerful.

"We always listen to the clients needs and wants rather than saying this is the trend, this is what people are having. We keep our finger on the pulse, but we adapt it. We pride ourselves on treating our clients as individuals."

Spacious Trinity House allows for easy social distancing and a one way system while masks and visors and additional cleaning have also been introduced to make Haringtons a safe space during the pandemic.

The team, a close knit group who missed each other during their prolonged coronavirus closure, regularly fundraise for local charities, most recently Solent Mind.

They are also recruiting in the hope of extending the hours and days they open to include more evenings and Sundays.