Society Insider: Meet Robyn Munro, the hairdresser to Auckland’s ultra-wealthy

“It was there I really got an appreciation for the dynamics of great event hair, so in 2007, I came back to NZ with a new outlook on the industry as I knew it,” she says. “Hairdressing became a way I could help empower women to feel fabulous and confident.”

She says her move into luxury styling “happened quite organically” because of her understanding of the “importance of discretion and privacy”.

“I never intentionally set out to target a rich-listers’ demographic.”

Munro is known to be a calm presence at work, with glam squads for big occasions.

Robyn Munro styling Miss NZ Britney Pringle, 2025, last year. Photo / Anupam Singh

She stays laser-focused on trends and nurturing the skills she needs to achieve luxe looks.

“My kit is curated from a lot of testing and sourcing.

“I’m not sponsored by any brands, which gives me the freedom to use what I really believe works and that will align with my luxury clients.”

Munro travelled to Kokomo Private Island for Mowbray’s 2024 Fijian wedding and styled her hair for her bridal looks, as well as the Slim Aarons-themed after-party. For the bride’s second wedding day look, knowing timing would be tight, Munro pre-made a hair bow attachment she could apply to the bride in minutes on the day.

Robyn Munro spent a week creating a hair bow attachment for Anna Mowbray’s second look on her wedding day.

Other weddings to receive the Munro touch include those of fashion designer Caitlin Crisp, property business owner Libby Price, and US-based talent manager Mikayla Baker.

Robyn Munro attaching bride Mikayla Baker’s veil earlier this year. Photo / Skye Carter Robyn Munro styling a wedding at Huka Lodge.

Munro admits she still has to pinch herself when she’s flown by helicopter or accommodated in luxury hotels by clients.

“I was once flown to Paris by a client needing a cut and blow wave while I was holidaying in Sweden,” she says.

The trip was courtesy of Jodie Dick, who flew Munro to Paris to attend to her hair after she finished the Camino trail.

Robyn Munro styled Jodie Dick for her 50th birthday at the Northern Club last year. Photo / Norrie Montgomery

“Robyn is so much more than my hair stylist and more than a friend – she’s family and like a sister to me,” Dick tells Society Insider.

“Every year, she attends the Ayrburn Classic with me, and has shared so many of life’s milestones with me, including weddings, special events and events I host at Hartfields.”

Munro says some of her favourite work has come from styling hair for themed parties.

“There have been neon butterflies flying around the head, glittered finger waves, creating a bird’s nest with a little bird in it – the list is long,” she says.

There have been plenty of commercial shoots too, where she has styled celebrities. Her best celebrity moment, however, was a surprise. In 2023, Munro arrived at a booking with no idea she’d be doing hair for visiting Hollywood star Natalie Portman, who was in Auckland for a Fifa speaking engagement.

These days, Munro operates a small salon in her picturesque part of the world, Leigh, north of Auckland, where she lives with her partner Scott.

In-demand luxury stylist Robyn Munro relaxing at home in Leigh.

“From there I freelance, doing private clients for business-related events and private functions.

“Bridal clients keep my diary locked up over the summer weekends.”

Much like her luxury styling business, Munro’s education business has also grown organically.

As well as teaching at salons throughout the country, she has been offering private one-on-one hairstyling lessons for people trying to cope with their own hair.

“It’s happened with clients being frustrated that they can’t have me there in those early mornings, when they have to make a TV appearance or speaking event abroad, and just have to be able to take things into their own hands,” she says. “Interior designer Shelley Ferguson was an early adopter of my lesson offer, and now I just love seeing her on socials etc, looking fab.”

Robyn Munro gave Shelley Ferguson, Julia Leuchars and Anna Mowbray the Slim Aarons look at Mowbray’s after-wedding day party in Fiji in 2024. Photo / Instagram @ShelleyFergusonstudio

Munro says that she and Scott have become empty nesters; her youngest daughter, Bianca, has recently moved to Miami for a cruise contract as a singer-dancer, while her eldest daughter, Claudia, has been studying in Sweden for several years and is now finishing her fine arts degree.

Clients who holiday in Europe will be happy with Munro’s new “creative” project, which will take her to Sweden for holidays once a year.

“We’ve bought a little old farmhouse in the Swedish countryside. We’ve just come back from eight weeks of gardening, painting, sewing and scraping beams, and loved every minute.”

Munro says she is living her dream life, and is planning to enjoy her youngest child’s singing on a Royal Caribbean cruise sometime this year, in between weddings.

Party People of the week

Bendon and Breast Cancer Cure at The French Café

Media, influencers and special guests gathered at Auckland’s The French Café last week, as the restaurant opened its doors for a one-off, pink-themed breakfast celebrating the launch of the Bendon x Breast Cancer Cure Sleepwear Collection.

The space was transformed, with guests enjoying coffee and pastries before sitting down to a two-course breakfast.

MC’d by Breast Cancer Cure (BCC) ambassador and broadcaster Wilhelmina O’Keeffe, guests heard from BCC chair and breast cancer survivor Fay Sowerby, before Bendon CEO Anna Johnson and GM of merchandise and design Kirsty McKeown walked them through the inspiration behind the eight-piece collection.

Among those attending were broadcaster Petra Bagust, former Shortland Street actor Ben Barrington, former Silver Fern Courtney Tairi, and influencers Mandy Duncan, Simone Anderson, Holly Estelle and Jess Molina.

The collection has launched both online and in stores, with $5 from every item sold going to Breast Cancer Cure to help fund life-saving breast cancer research in New Zealand.

Wilhelmina O’Keeffe and Ben Barrington. Photo / Norrie Montgomery Antonia Cosma and Mia Burgess. Photo / Norrie Montgomery Sonja de Mari and Anna Johnson. Photo / Norrie Montgomery Charlotte Lockhart, Catherine Cooke and Fay Sowerby. Photo / Norrie Montgomery Holly Lindsey and Jahna Barraclough. Photo / Norrie Montgomery Simone Anderson, Christina Dellar and Mandy Duncan. Photo / Norrie Montgomery Julia Leuchars, Sonja de Mari, Jessica Taplin and Tess O’Neill. Photo / Norrie Montgomery Hannah Chidley and Piers Bebbington. Photo / Norrie Montgomery Rebecca Armour, Andrew Shelling, Piers Bebbington and Anna Johnson. Photo / Norrie Montgomery

Ricardo Simich has been with the Herald since 2008 where he contributed to The Business Insider. In 2012 he took over Spy at the Herald on Sunday, which has since evolved into Society Insider. The weekly column gives a glimpse into the worlds of the rich and famous.