Vidal Sassoon passed away May 9th of 2012. The British hairdresser found a real passion in creating hair styles that were inspired by architecture. He was credited with several innovative styles in hair including the “Bauhaus-inspired” wedge bob. His popularity and memorable commercials in the 1980s helped foster the personal image that he was “a rock star, an artist, [and] a craftsman who changed the world with a pair of scissors.”
As Wikipedia writes, “His ‘wash and wear’ philosophy liberated women from the ‘tyranny of the salon’ and ‘revolutionized the art of hairstyling.’ Sassoon’s styles became ‘emblematic of freedom and good health’ and their popularity allowed him to open the first chain of worldwide hair styling salons, complemented by his hair-treatment products. After his passing a closer examination was given to his love of architecture and the influence it had on his approach to hairdressing.
The Telegraph author Becky Sunshine writes of how Sassoon found his initial traction in the fashion industry: “It was his geometric haircuts of the 1960s and 70s that made Sassoon a global name and exposed him to the world of architecture and design. ‘I’ve always believed that architecture is the most important creative form,’ he says. ‘Architects create buildings seen by thousands of people who walk by every day. Buildings can make people happy.’” Sunshine continued, “Sassoon drew a parallel between hairdressing and building in an interview with Architectural Digest last year: ‘My whole work, beginning in the late 1950s, came from the Bauhaus. It was all about studying the bone structure of the face, to bring out the character. I hated the prettiness that was in fashion at that time.’ In the 1960s he had an opportunity to meet one of his heroes, the Bauhaus-educated modernist architect Marcel Breuer in New York. ‘We discussed how, despite working in such different fields, we had common ground, such as the beauty of angles and geometry. He praised my work as groundbreaking. That was astonishing to me.’”
Photograph from Wikipedia
There has been an unspoken rule in interior design over the years that says “not to threaten anyone with your choices.” Making a place comfortable generally meant that it needed to be neutral in its color palette and unassuming in its design. Classy and nondescript was said to be better than being bold.
