19 March 2024

Sassoon’s Swinging Sixties….

Modern, relevant and always low-maintenance best described Vidal Sassoon’s motto. “My idea was to cut shape into the hair, to use it like fabric and take away everything that was superfluous,” Sassoon said.

Sassoon adored shapes, forms, angles and organic movement and texture. A variation on an existing technique was The Geometric Perm. Sassoon’s popularity reached epic proportions in 1963 when created a short, angular hairstyle cut on a horizontal plane that was the recreation of the classic “bob cut”. One of his most famous creation was for the Hollywood actress, Hong Kong-born Nancy Kwan in 1968. The picture of Nancy Kwan’s new bob was circulated around the world, and has since famously known as the “Nancy Kwan Cut“.

The outstanding effect of the Sassoon Bob achieved by enhancing natural shine. His “wash and wear” philosophy liberated women from massive back-combing and lacquers. The perfection of the Five Point Cut led to international recognition – it also gave the British Fashion Icon – Mary Quant her trademark bob. Soon after, the popularity of the Sassoon Bob really caught onto the wave as it hits the cinema screens, when he styled Mia Farrow’s hair for the Roman Polanski cult classic Rosemary’s Baby. Since then, the name Vidal Sassoon became synonymous with hairdressing perfection both for the consumer and the professional alike.

For young women around the world, Vidal’s greatest gift was that he created Wash and Go hair – no more sitting under a hairdryer with a head full of rollers, girls could begin to take control of their own look.

On the other side of the pond – as Brits would say – Vidal, always trendsetter,  settled in California and concentrated on his own product line, marketed with his catch-phrase, “If you don’t look good, we don’t look good.” The English invasion wasn’t just about the Beatles and the Rolling Stones!

Gary Kelly, Editor-in-Chief EsteticaUK

Celebrity photos: Getty Images


Vidal Sassoon
https://sassoon.com
Published in Collections

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