It was at the age of 13 that Napoleon Perdis picked up his first makeup brush to help his mother prepare for an evening out. The young boy was hooked, but having a strict Greek father he had to wait until he'd finished his legal degree before he could explore his passion for makeup.
At the age of 25 and with a degree under his belt, Perdis finally broke out on his own and headed to L.A., where a meeting with Leonard Engelman (who was the makeup artist at the time for Cher and Val Kilmer) led to a job as an assistant makeup artist working on Batman Forever. Despite the golden opportunity, Perdis came to the realisation that film wasn't his calling and his journey led him onward to New York, where he met a fellow Greek, a manufacturer of cosmetics in the United States. Perdis was inspired.
In 1995, Perdis opened his first concept store on Sydney's Oxford Street and a growing reputation led to work on shoots for Vogue and Harpers. Now, over fifteen years later, the Napoleon brand is an international success, with 72 concept stores and over 4,500 point-of-sale locations in Australia and New Zealand as well as stores in the United States.
Perdis and his team are regulars backstage at Australian Fashion Weeks, but Perdis' aim has always been about combining runway with reality. His inspiration? "I have four daughters and I just love women. That's what keeps me inspired."
