Our story
Founded on a fourth-day haircut.
Élise Marchand opened Lumière in 2011 after fourteen years between Montreal and Paris, tired of salons that produced beautiful photographs and disappointing Wednesdays.
The beginning
The first Lumière was two chairs above a bookshop in the ByWard Market. Word moved the way it does in a small city — one impeccable bob at a time — and by 2016 we had taken the ground floor of the building on Sussex Drive we still occupy today.
Very little about the approach has changed. We still cut dry before we cut wet. We still keep the team small enough that Élise trains every stylist herself. And we still refuse to book two clients into the same hour.
Our mission
To give every client hair that looks intentional on the day of the appointment and effortless for the three months after it.
What we hold to
Four values, no compromises.
Precision first
Every cut starts dry, in your natural texture, so we can see how your hair actually behaves before a single section is taken.
Honest counsel
If a colour will damage your hair or a cut will not suit your growth pattern, we will say so and offer something better.
Unhurried time
We book one client per stylist per slot. No double-booking, no leaving you under foils while someone else is finished.
Quiet luxury
No music you have to shout over, no upselling. Just a calm room, good coffee and work you will want to photograph.
Meet the team
Three stylists. No juniors.
Everyone who touches your hair at Lumière has at least a decade behind the chair.
Élise Marchand
Founder & Master Stylist
Twenty-two years behind the chair, eight of them in Paris. Élise built Lumière around one belief: a good haircut should still look right on the fourth day.
Amara Okonjo
Colour Director
A specialist in balayage and textured hair. Amara formulates every shade by hand and is known for grow-outs that never announce themselves.
Julien Bissonnette
Senior Stylist & Barber
Classically trained in men's cutting and precision bobs. Julien's work is quiet, architectural and impossibly clean at the neckline.
Reserve your chair
Good hair begins with an unhurried hour.
Tell us what you are hoping for and we will pair you with the stylist best suited to it.
Book Appointment