Kabuki hails from the north of England. With inspiration from his friendship with famed British illustrator Errol Le Cain, Kabuki was already an accomplished artist by his teens. He landed his first job in New York as a textile designer but it was his unique flair for outlandish dress and make-up that led him to the then-flourishing NYC club scene. This in turn led to modeling on European runways for Thierry Mugler and performing in the downtown troupe “Black Lips”. He caught the eye of stylist/designer Patricia Field and Kabuki was brought onto “Sex and the City” to establish the make-up looks for Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis. And the ball was officially rolling…
After seasons 1 and 2 on Sex, he went on to work as a make-up artist in feature films (Party Monster, Palindromes) and television (Russian Doll). Kabuki has worked with many pop stars (Rihanna, Selena Gomez, Lady Gaga, Christina Aguilera, Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Gwen Stefani, Katy Perry, Michael Jackson), actresses (Florence Pugh, Keke Palmer, Julia Garner, Ana De Armas), and with many of today’s leading photographers (Steven Klein, Albert Watson, Emma Summerton, Mark Seliger, Inez and Vinoodh, Mert + Marcus.
Kabuki's shoots have appeared in just about all of the major fashion magazines including, Italian Vogue, American Vogue, Paris Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Marie Claire and ELLE. Advertising projects include fashion campaigns for NIKE, Burberry, Kenzo, Philipp Plein, Dennis Basso, Longchamp, Akris, D&G, Ermanno Scervino, Alberta Ferretti and Missoni. Beauty shoots include campaigns for Tom Ford, Shiseido, Smashbox, Cover Girl, Max Factor, Nars, Swarovski, L'Oreal and MAC.
Kabuki has designed the make-up looks for a number of Fashion Week shows in New York, London, Paris, Los Angeles and Milan for design houses that include Marni, Guy Laroche, Moschino, The Blonds, Zac Posen, Diesel, Salvatore Ferragamo, and Jeremy Scott. His fabric, accessory and mask designs have been seen on the runways as well. In 20015 collaborated with the Royal Ballet for Wayne McGregor’s production of Woolf Works. In 2017, Kabuki toured the world promoting his "Makeup Masters Collection" with MAC. Kabuki divides his time between New York City and Saugerties in upstate New York. A book of his drawings, "73 Drawings by Kabuki" is available now through Blurb.com.