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Marki Shkreli is a visionary hairstylist and biotech innovator reshaping beauty, fashion and science. Based between New York and major fashion capitals, he has built a career that spans red-carpet styling, high fashion editorials, luxury campaigns and, more recently, cutting-edge biotechnology and haircare. This blend of creativity and science has made his name increasingly prominent with editors, celebrities and entrepreneurs alike.
Very early in his journey, Shkreli’s path was shaped by training under Detroit legend David Pressley, whose old-school discipline and philosophy of hair left a lasting mark. That grounding in classic technique now underpins a global career that moves fluidly between fashion weeks, photo studios, laboratories and advisory rooms.
Early Life and Family Roots in Hairdressing
Shkreli was born into a family of hairdressers and grew up in Michigan, where salon life was part of everyday family culture. Aunts, uncles and extended relatives worked behind the chair, and he absorbed the rhythms of appointments, consultations and transformations long before he held a professional licence. Those early years surrounded by rollers, combs and conversation helped him see hair not just as grooming, but as a form of self-expression and storytelling.
His family’s roots trace back to Albanian communities in Montenegro and northern Albania, and that heritage later connected him to the Albanian Institute in New York, a cultural organisation dedicated to promoting Albanian arts and identity on an international stage. Today, Shkreli serves on the Institute’s advisory board, symbolically tying his global fashion career back to his cultural background and family story.
Training Under David Pressley and Classic Hairdressing Techniques
As a teenager, Shkreli enrolled at the cosmetology school run by centenarian hairdresser David Pressley, a Detroit institution whose career stretched back to the 1930s. Pressley’s classroom was filled with mannequin heads preserved from past decades, including a French twist that had remained untouched since the mid-1960s. For Shkreli, working in that environment was like stepping into living hairdressing history.
Pressley drilled traditional techniques into his students, from precise roller sets to structured up-dos, but he also shared a philosophy that hair is “living” and should be treated as part of a person’s identity.i-D He encouraged Shkreli to look not to other stylists for inspiration, but to film, where the movement of hair under light and camera could be studied frame by frame. That combination of technical rigour and cinematic thinking became the backbone of Shkreli’s later editorial style.
Breakthrough in Editorial Fashion and Cinematic Hair Imagery
After graduating, Shkreli moved into the fashion world, initially assisting senior stylists at shows and shoots before gradually building his own portfolio. During these early years he began shooting his own Polaroid-like portraits of models, creating soft-focus, cinematic images inspired by 1960s and 70s heroines, Sharon Tate and classic Antonioni films. These self-directed projects, often photographed in his uncle’s salon outside New York City, allowed him full control over hair, atmosphere and narrative.
Those images caught the attention of influential editors and helped Shkreli skip several usual rungs on the ladder, moving quickly from assistant to commissioned stylist. His editorial work has since appeared in a wide range of prestigious titles, including Vogue Italia (part of the wider Vogue magazine brand), i-D, Dazed, Pop, Purple and AnOther Magazine, among many others. This presence across influential publications cemented his reputation as a stylist with a distinct, cinematic eye.
Celebrity Clients and Global Campaigns
As his editorial portfolio grew, so did his celebrity clientele. Shkreli has worked with Academy Award winners and globally recognised performers, including Julianne Moore, Gwyneth Paltrow, Charlize Theron, Uma Thurman, Naomi Watts, Emma Watson, Drew Barrymore, Lily Collins, Tilda Swinton, Elle Fanning and Sienna Miller. His work has also extended to musicians and pop icons such as Christina Aguilera, further demonstrating his ability to collaborate with high-profile talent under intense media scrutiny.
On the brand side, Shkreli’s touch can be seen in campaigns for some of the world’s most recognisable luxury houses and fashion retailers. He has created hair looks for Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Loewe, Cartier, Tiffany & Co., Zara, Amiri, Moncler, Ferragamo, Ralph Lauren and many others, spanning everything from high jewellery stories to accessible high-street imagery. This breadth of work shows how his aesthetic translates seamlessly across sectors, price points and audiences.
Style Philosophy: Effortless Texture, Movement and Storytelling
Across editorials, red carpets and advertising, Shkreli has become known for an “effortless” style that focuses on movement and texture rather than rigid perfection. Industry profiles consistently note his ability to make hair look lived-in yet polished, with subtle bends, soft waves and shapes that translate beautifully on camera. Rather than over-styled finishes, he favours looks that feel like an extension of the person wearing them.
His early experience as a photographer also continues to shape how he approaches hair. Because he once composed and shot his own images, he thinks in frames and sequences, considering how a fringe might catch back-light or how a curl will fall as a subject turns. In this sense, every style is part of a wider story: a character, a mood, a moment in a narrative rather than a static image. That storytelling mindset is one reason directors, photographers and editors repeatedly return to him.
Biotech Ventures and Luxury Haircare Innovation
In recent years, Shkreli has expanded beyond the salon and studio into biotechnology, applying his understanding of hair to science-led innovation. Working with scientists in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he has been involved in building a biotech company focused on molecular tissue repair and regenerative technologies, aiming to improve hair and skin health at a deep, structural level.
Alongside this, he is developing an ultra-luxury, biotech-driven haircare line, produced in France, that blends advanced actives with sensorial, high-end formulations. The goal is not simply cosmetic shine, but long-term hair health rooted in research-backed ingredients and proprietary complexes. By bridging laboratory science and the aesthetic demands of high fashion, Shkreli positions himself at the forefront of a new wave where beauty, wellness and biotech intersect.
Mentorship, Philanthropy and Industry Influence
Beyond his own brands and bookings, Shkreli invests significant time in mentoring and advisory work. Through programmes such as Oneday’s founder network, he coaches early-stage entrepreneurs on building brands, innovating without traditional backing and navigating the intersection of creativity and business. He also sits on advisory boards across sectors ranging from precision medicine and AI to sustainability-focused ventures, reflecting how his insights are valued well beyond fashion alone.
Philanthropy is another recurring theme in his public biography. Shkreli supports organisations dealing with food security, Parkinson’s disease, childhood cancer, environmental “ecolonomics” and neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s, among others. His role on the Albanian Institute’s advisory board adds a cultural dimension, as he helps to champion Albanian art, design and talent on the global stage. Together, these commitments present him not only as a stylist and entrepreneur, but as a figure using his platform to support broader social and cultural causes.
Conclusion: Marki Shkreli’s Ongoing Legacy in Beauty and Biotech
From a childhood spent in family salons to working with award-winning actors, global fashion houses and scientific teams in Cambridge and France, Marki Shkreli’s trajectory is unusually multidimensional. His signature is visible in the effortless hair seen on magazine covers, red carpets and major campaigns, but also in emerging biotech projects aimed at redefining how we care for hair and skin. As he continues to balance editorial artistry with innovation in luxury haircare and tissue repair, the name Marki Shkreli is likely to remain influential at the point where beauty, fashion and science converge.