I havnt tried their director before. But I did had a conversation about their director level stylists with the technician while she's doing my hair wash. I asked if their director(Jean) is good with guys hair, and she mentioned that she prefers max kim's cut as compared to Jean Pierre. Since reviews about max have been unrivaling, I thought I made the right choice but what I got in the end wasnt up to my expectation. By the way, I tried out quite a number of directors and on many occasions, their non director stylist does better. Lol
I'm not a pro myself, so I do my recommendations based on 3 factors. Does the hairstyle look good/make me look better, how manageable, and the service. So far, I think Maeda and Jonathan both manage to give me a hairdo that I like, at the same time, not hard to manage. Service rendered is exceptional as well, I had an event that day and when I went back to get my hair styled, he actually did it for me for free. I personally prefer stylists that really spend time doing a precise cut and not those that will just snip snip with a thinning scissors and be done with your hair in just ten mins. Both stylists I mentioned spend significant amount of time (at least 30mins for me) for my hairdo. Heard from johnathan that he usually allocates an hour per customer for haircut only.
I don't usually go with pictures. I'll just tell them what I would like and get them to do something that suit my features. Its too humid in sg and I know alot of the styles that I like won't last in such conditions.
Btw, I lost Maeda as soon as he left for Japan.