Nicky Oliver has shaped Northern Quarter hairdressing since 1990

Long before the Northern Quarter became the creative heart of Manchester city centre, Nicky Oliver was already cutting hair there. The stylist opened his salon in 1990, and more than three decades later it remains one of the best-known names in the city's hairdressing scene.

The salon occupies a spacious five-storey building on Oldham Street, in the middle of the Northern Quarter. The Good Salon Guide, which lists the salon, notes that Nicky Oliver opened its doors in 1990, at a time when the neighbourhood was only beginning to find its feet as a home for independent businesses.

Over the years the team has built a strong reputation within the industry. According to its Good Salon Guide listing, the salon has won a number of awards, including Hairdresser of the Year, Styling Team of the Year and Best Salon of the Year.

Alongside the salon sits the Nicky Oliver Academy, which has become an important part of the business. The academy describes itself as founded by Nicky Oliver and says it has trained more than 10,000 students, helping a new generation of hairdressers learn the craft in a working Manchester salon.

That focus on training gives the business a distinctive role in the city. For many trainees, the academy offers a route into the industry, learning skills in a busy city centre salon rather than only in a classroom.

The academy also offers clients a different way to enjoy the salon. It regularly invites hair models to come in for services carried out by students under supervision, giving trainees valuable experience with real clients and giving models the chance to try a new look.

For regular clients, the salon remains a place for cuts, colour and styling in a building that has become part of the Northern Quarter's fabric. Its longevity is all the more impressive in a part of the city where shops and bars come and go, and it sits within easy reach of Piccadilly Gardens and the area's many independent shops.

Appointments at the salon can be booked through online booking platforms such as Treatwell, while details of courses and opportunities to become a hair model are published on the Nicky Oliver Academy website.