Yianni Tsapatori brings 25 years of global hair mastery to Blown and India will never salon the same way again
Words | Rohini Wahul
Bangalore’s luxury hair scene just got a significant upgrade. Blown, the celebrated salon brand founded by entrepreneur Menaka Bhandary, has announced that globally acclaimed celebrity hairstylist Yianni Tsapatori is joining the brand as Creative Director and Partner. It is a partnership that signals not just a bold new chapter for Blown but a genuinely defining moment for the Indian salon industry as a whole. When two of the most compelling names in luxury hair come together under one roof, the industry pays attention.
The Man Behind the Mastery
Born in Greece and formally trained at the prestigious Toni and Guy Academy in London, Yianni Tsapatori spent years refining his craft across Europe and New York before relocating to India in 2016. His editorial portfolio has graced the pages of Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, Marie Claire, Allure and TIME. His campaign work spans Cartier, Chopard, Adidas, Toyota, Vodafone and Levi’s. On the events circuit, his presence has been felt at the Oscars, Cannes Film Festival, BAFTA, the Red Sea Film Festival, Vogue Beauty Awards, Elle Beauty Awards and the Olympic Games.
From 2012 to 2018, Yianni served as Global Ambassador and Master Trainer for Balmain Paris Hair Couture, recognised as the company’s leading hair extension specialist worldwide and respected internationally for his meticulous cutting technique and deep product knowledge. Since making India his home, he has become one of the most sought-after hairstylists in the country, building a Bollywood client list that includes Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra, Katrina Kaif, Anushka Sharma, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Alia Bhatt. His ability to bridge international technique with Indian glamour is precisely what makes this partnership so powerful.
Eight Years of Blown, One Bold Move
Blown is no stranger to disruption. When Menaka Bhandary launched India’s first salon and wine bar concept eight years ago, it stopped the industry in its tracks. At a time when salons were purely transactional spaces, Blown reimagined the experience entirely, merging luxury hair services with social leisure in a format no one in India had attempted before. Eight years on, it remains one of the only brands to sustain this concept successfully, a testament to just how ahead of its time the idea truly was.
Four thriving salons across Bangalore later, the brand has built a fiercely loyal, community-driven clientele who come not just for the service but for the experience. Menaka built all of this while raising two children and scaling a fast-growing business, quietly shaping Blown into one of the most distinctive luxury hair identities in the country. This partnership is her most ambitious move yet.
From Cannes to the Blown Chair
What makes this collaboration genuinely exceptional is direct access. Yianni will personally service clients at Blown, bringing internationally benchmarked artistry straight to the chair. For clients who have previously had to travel abroad to access this level of expertise, that changes everything. Twenty-five years of mastery across the most demanding runways, red carpets and editorial sets in the world, now available at a Blown salon in Bangalore. That is a landmark shift in what Indian clients can expect from their salon experience.
Training the Next Generation
The Blown Academy sits at the heart of this new chapter. A structured training programme led personally by Yianni, it is designed to develop elite Indian stylists from the ground up, embedding international precision, cutting technique and finishing standards into the foundation of Indian salon education. The ambition extends well beyond Blown. It is about raising the benchmark for the entire Indian hair industry and creating a new generation of stylists who compete on a genuinely global level.
Bangalore, Meet Blown 2.0
National expansion across major metros across India is firmly on the agenda. Alongside this, Blown is preparing to unveil a bold new location marking the physical launch of Blown 2.0, a fully integrated ecosystem where training, technology, technique and client experience work as one seamless whole. Two visionaries, one shared ambition. The Indian luxury salon industry will not look the same after this.
