Some brands are built. Some are inherited. Funner is both, and it’s better for it.
I met the Kaner family in mid-June at a SoHo art gallery. There weren’t too many details in the invite, but as soon as I walked into the room, I knew this line was different. The punchy colors of the products on display, the hand-designed font of the logo, the next-level photography presented on (gasp!) film and, my personal favorite, an open conversation about a new hair line they were launching together. By the time I left, I was already paying attention.
Jonah Kaner co-founded the brand with his father, Daniel Kaner (who co-founded Oribe), and his mother, beauty legend Sonia Kashuk. The three of them, together, launching a 21-product collection that spans cleansing, conditioning, treatment, styling and finishing has all the makings of a successful line—but the pressure for it to be good is also palpable.
The name itself, Jonah shares, is intentional. Funner is intended to live “slightly outside the rules, including linguistically (the phrase is one he used to say when he was younger and it’s one that he came back to during the pandemic, when the seed for the line was born). But at its core, Funner is built on the idea that there is no single definition of good hair. One day it’s polished shine and softness. The next, it’s texture, volume and something a little unpredictable. The brand doesn’t want to tell you what your hair should look like. It wants to give you the tools to figure that out for yourself and run with it.
And that’s exactly what it’s doing. “Funner is not about prescribing one version of good hair,” says Jonah. “The best version of hair is defined by the person wearing it.”
Jonah could have coasted on his parents’ reputations. He didn’t. Instead, he built something shaped equally by salon expertise and contemporary visual culture—technically credible products presented through a language that feels more expressive, personal and culturally aware. The visual identity was created by M/M Paris, and the campaign imagery was shot by photographer Jamie Hawkesworth, whose eye for quiet, intimate portraiture gives the brand a feeling that’s more fashion than function. And, if some of the packaging happens to show up in blue and orange—well, the family of devout Knicks fans swears it wasn’t intentional. But for a brand launching in New York right now, it doesn’t hurt.
The formulas are clinically tested and developed alongside top stylists, and are sulfate-, paraben- and silicone-free, and consider scalp health, color protection and long-term hair longevity throughout. One thing that ties the whole collection together is a very impressive single-scent signature, a fresh citrus with warm cedar undertones. Light, unisex and designed to complement the experience without overpowering it. It’s a small detail that says a lot about how thoughtfully this line was put together.
Funner is now available at C.O. Bigelow in New York, Cosmetic Market in Nashville and at shopfunner.com.
