PARIS — Dyson is poised to launch its strongest, lightest hair dryer thus far — the Supersonic r — for the general public.
Its design stemmed from “the search to make an ever-better hair dryer,” defined Sir James Dyson, founder and serial inventor, sitting in his model’s flagship on Paris’ Rue Auber on Tuesday morning. “It began with a motor, which sounds an odd factor to say, to get into the wonder enterprise.”
He pointed to the tiny motor, which spins at as much as 130,000 revolutions a minute, after which to a extra conventional motor, which was huge compared however operates at solely 15,000 rpm.
The brand new hair dryer is an evolution of the model’s Supersonic hair dryer that launched in 2016, marking Dyson’s foray into the wonder enterprise. The up to date glossy, curved dryer, which resembles a lowercase “r,” was launched for skilled hairstylists final 12 months in restricted manufacturing at first.
“We had been in a position to put the motor within the deal with,” mentioned Dyson, including that’s the very best place for it, in any other case there’s a dumbbell impact attributable to awkward weight distribution. “This one solely switches on when it sees your hair, after which the nearer you convey it, the decrease the temperature.”
Versus the prior mannequin, this new one is smaller as a way to make it extra of a precision instrument. The heater it accommodates was reinvented, in etched wire.
“I all the time name it ‘the world’s smallest heater,’” mentioned Dyson. “The air that goes by means of is laminar. It’s not disturbed.”
The dryer has three such heaters, molded in plastic, giving 1,500 watts.
James Dyson
Picture by Max Lancaster / Courtesy of Dyson
“Not solely is it mild, but it surely cools immediately,” he continued, underlining that enables for necessary time-saving for a cool shot that immediately freezes the realm that was styled or straightened.
The Supersonic r has radio frequency identification sensors in its attachments, permitting for the motor and heater mechanically to regulate to ship optimum airflow and temperature. The add-ons, made for straight-wavy or curly-coily hair, embrace a diffuser, wide-tooth comb, flyaway attachment, highly effective air attachment and professional concentrator.
Dyson demonstrated the flyaway attachment himself.
“That is one among my favorites,” he mentioned. “It does one thing you wouldn’t suppose it may do, which is it pulls all the conventional hairs ahead, and the flyaways get to the again. So the flyaways get tucked inside your hair. All you see on the surface is clean hair.”
Dyson then confirmed how every attachment has a special airflow and associated temperature.
The Supersonic r is 30 p.c smaller, 20 p.c lighter and extra maneuverable than the unique Supersonic hair dryer. The brand new model is available in two colorways: Ceramic Pink, winking to a pearl, and Jasper Plum, impressed by the purple jasper gemstone.
“We sketched it a very long time in the past,” mentioned Dyson, of the machine’s kind. “We had the dream a very long time in the past, and it took some time to convey it by means of.”
The Supersonic r will probably be launched at a cocktail occasion on the Paris flagship Wednesday night, throughout style week. The brand new dryer, which retails for $569.99, will probably be accessible within the U.S. and Mexico beginning Thursday. The European rollout begins in April.
Dyson has a long-standing hyperlink with the French capital, the place it opened its first Demo Retailer in 2000 on the Rue de la Boetie. The model additionally has a deep tie-in with style, beginning with its collaboration with Issey Miyake in 2007 on the runway of the Japanese designer’s assortment known as “The Wind.”
The Supersonic r was first used backstage final 12 months at exhibits together with Chloé, Stella McCartney and Issey Miyake. Dyson will companion once more with Chloé on the present slated for Thursday.
In tandem with the introduction of the dryer would be the launch of a primary Styling Menu, for various hair varieties, in some Dyson Demo flagships across the globe. That provides folks the prospect to discover 5 totally different trending types from this 12 months — dubbed the textured wave bob, S-shaped curls, glossy straight, halo curls and delicate twist-outs — with the assistance of one of many model’s styling consultants. The menu is to be up to date every season.
The skilled version of the Supersonic r, with an extended cable and totally different colorways, will stay accessible.
The Dyson model in no way rushed into the hair class.
“It’s crucial to grasp the science earlier than we do something,” mentioned James Dyson. “We didn’t soar into it simply to make a hair dryer. So what we did was factor for magnificence and the science of hair — not a nasty factor.”
The Dyson model has additionally delved into moist styling product formulation, launching the Chitosan vary final August.
“Which is why farming is of nice curiosity to us,” mentioned Dyson. “We have now farms of assorted varieties — vineyards, olive groves, strawberry … grey barley, wheat and peas. It’s an adjunct to our enterprise sooner or later — not fairly in the mean time.”
