MENSPIRE, Explained: The British House of Grooming Now in New York

If you've walked past 11 Greene Street and wondered what MENSPIRE is, the short answer is a men's hair salon. The longer answer is a British house of grooming that has spent more than a decade building one standard of men's hairdressing and taking it around the world.

Where it started

MENSPIRE was founded in England in 2012 by Samuel Palmer and Josh Lamonaca, with a simple idea: men deserve a proper haircut, done by trained stylists, booked to the minute and never rushed. Not a quick in and out, but a consultation, a precise cut and a finish you can recreate at home. The first salon opened its doors in 2014.

One standard, many cities

From the UK the group grew into Europe, the Middle East and Asia, with salons in London, the Netherlands, Italy, Dubai, Hong Kong and Malaysia. Today there are more than thirty MENSPIRE salons in seven countries on four continents, with more than 150 stylists. New York is the first in America.

What keeps them all the same is training. The MENSPIRE Academy teaches every stylist the same techniques and the same way of working with a client, whichever city they cut in. Luca Perillo, one of the New York salon's owners, is one of the Academy's International Educators, so the standard on Greene Street comes straight from the people who teach it.

Men's Hairdresser of the Year

In 2025 MENSPIRE's cofounder, Josh Lamonaca, was named Men's Hairdresser of the Year at the British Hairdressing Awards, the most prestigious honour in the profession and the highest a hairdresser can receive. It's one person's award, but it reflects how the whole group works: technical scissor work, modern wearable shapes and a proper finish.

What makes a MENSPIRE cut different

• A consultation first. We ask how you wear your hair, how much time you give it in the morning and what you want to change, before anything is cut.
• Scissor work, not just clippers. Fades, texture and classic shapes, cut to suit your hair type and the way it grows.
• A proper finish. Styled before you leave, with advice on the product to use and how to do it yourself.
• Time. Appointments are booked to the minute, so your stylist is never rushing to the next chair.

MENSPIRE in New York

The New York salon brings all of this to SoHo, in a bright room on Greene Street run by its owners, Luca Perillo and Carlo Polito. Read their story, or book your first appointment on Fresha.