The Gilles are forbidden to wear beards and their hair must be impeccably cut. Before D-Day, all the hairdressers in the region are taken by storm.
There are only a few days left for the final preparations… Next Tuesday, nearly 1,000 Gilles will parade through the streets of Binche.
But before starting the carnival, it is in the hairdressing salons that they parade. On the menu, a bar haircut: the same for all participants. Very short hair on the sides, almost shaved along the ears and on the top of the neck, here is in a few words the rendering of a barrette cut, which takes its name from the cap worn by the Gilles. “There must be no hair sticking out, and leave a little half a centimeter above to be sure and my client will be quiet to do the Gilles”, enthuses Mario Di Gicomo, hairdresser in Binche. Unthinkable indeed to wear the costume of Gilles without respecting the requirements and the traditions. “It’s completely inconceivable, you have to be beautiful and worthy of being a Gilles”comments a customer.
But not only. Frédéric Ansion, president of Les Récalcitrants, specifies that the spirit of equality is also very important. “Everyone must be the same. When the mask is removed, all Gilles are equal, we all look alike.”
no beard either
The beard, too, must be completely removed for Shrove Tuesday…. But for the more modest, there are folk societies that allow beards. “As a sailor or as a Gilles, it’s all regarding doing it right and loving the Binche carnival”summarizes Eric, who will remain in the hair for this edition.
