Fresh crop; Their numbers are passed around at parties, their names whispered among supermodels, society girls, and Hollywood starlets.(Ted Gibson, Ashley Javier, Renato Campora)

Byline: Ying Chu

TED GIBSON

With a dab of mousse, six bobby pins, and a flip of his fingers, Ted Gibson transforms model Lisa Cant's hair from flat to fierce. "You learn to be fast doing the shows," he says, referring to his time assisting master stylist Eugene Souleiman backstage at Prada, Miu Miu, and Dolce & Gabbana.

It was Milan via Minneapolis for Gibson, who first learned the hair trade as understudy to Aveda founder Horst Rechelbacher, designing products and heading up global education for the Twin Cities company.

Now based in Manhattan with a plush Flatiron-district salon of his own, the former footballer has a demeanor far more genteel than his brawny, six-foot-three frame first suggests. "It's why I always wear pink," says Gibson, smiling, with a hint of Barry White in his tone. "The hair I style has an airy softness, and I want that to come across when people meet me."

When not off to Tokyo or London prepping Angelina Jolie, Gabrielle Union, or Keira Knightley, Gibson returns to his roots, dreaming up new products. His first-out this month-is the Ted Gibson HairSheet: disposable towelettes (inspired by Bounce fabric-softener sheets) infused with wild-orchid extract, silk proteins, and vitamins, meant to be swiped over hair to style, refresh, and condition. "They're perfect for people on the go," says Gibson. He should know.

Ted Gibson Salon, 184 Fifth Avenue, second floor, NYC; (212) 633-6333. Haircut, $450.