As the role of women in society evolved from wife and homemaker in the 1950s to independent career girl a decade later, Vidal Sassoon’s easy-to-manage coiffures helped them make the transition.
Vidal Sassoon early life
Born in Hammersmith, London, in January 1928, Sassoon grew up in poverty after his father abandoned the family in 1931. Despite being left alone with two children, their mother Betty always resolved to give them the best life possible.
As they were evicted because they couldn’t afford to pay the rent, the family moved into a two-room tenement flat with her sister and three children. There wasn’t a bathroom, and four families shared an outside toilet. Vidal recalled the building was falling apart and rain poured in through the roof.
Eventually, out of desperation, Betty placed her two sons in an orphanage when Vidal was four, as she could no longer afford to care for them. They lived there until he was 11, when Betty remarried.
First job
Leaving school at 14 in 1942, Sassoon took his first job as a messenger at the height of World War II, when London was continually being bombed. Sleeping in underground shelters, he spent his days taking messages from the city centre to the docks, surrounded by the horrors of war.
He excelled at football and dreamed of escaping his current situation by becoming a professional player, but his mother had other ideas. She secured him a hairdressing apprenticeship at a school run by the renowned stylist Adolph Cohen, but Sassoon wasn’t pleased. He said he couldn’t imagine winding up rollers and backcombing hair for a living. In fact, his career might never have happened if it hadn't been for Cohen’s kindness.
Betty was devastated to learn the two-year apprenticeship was far more than she could afford, but Cohen was impressed by Sassoon’s politeness and good manners, and immediately decided to take a chance on him and waive the fees.
Wartime bravery
A trainee hairdresser by day, at the age of 17, he became a member of the underground organisation, 43 Group, towards the end of the war. Founded by Morris Beckman, a writer and anti-fascist, the group broke up meetings across London in an attempt to stop the hatred from spreading.
He returned to London by the end of the decade and trained under famous stylist Peter Carlo Bessone Raymond, aka Teasy-Weasy, at his Mayfair salon. Sassoon discovered a talent and created innovative new styles, including the geometric perm and the famous smooth bob sported by actress Nancy Kwan.
He opened his own salon in 1954 at 108 Bond Street, London, in an era when the beehive and teased bouffant dominated the world of fashion. Women’s hair was waved and curled with rollers before being heavily backcombed into a rigid style.
Swinging Sixties
Great Britain, but particularly London, enjoyed a cultural revolution in the Swinging Sixties, which was typified by new hairstyles for women. The bouffant, heavily lacquered styles of the ‘50s were replaced by low-maintenance simple creations that were all about the precise cut. For the first time, women were able to wash their hair, dry it quickly and go, without spending hours at a hair salon suffering the discomfort of backcombing.
Sassoon single-handedly changed hairstyles trends in a decade when youth culture evolved, and life became easier and freer for young people. He became famous for designing geometric hairstyles, such as the asymmetrical “five point” cut worn by fashion designer Mary Quant, which made the most of shiny straight hair. He recreated the classic bob in 1964, relying on the hair’s natural shine, rather than using styling products such as lacquer, to get the best effect.
Sassoon earned a following of celebrity clientele including Quant, actresses Mia Farrow, Goldie Hawn, Helen Mirren and Nastassja Kinski, actor Terence Stamp, model Jean Shrimpton and even the Duchess of Bedford.
His fame grew and he opened his first US salon on Madison Avenue in New York City in 1965.
Trend-setting career
For the rest of his career, Sassoon prided himself on setting trends in the world of hairdressing.
In 1973, he launched his own range of Vidal Sassoon hair styling products, reportedly on the advice of his friend, actor Michael Caine, who said he needed something that would treat his hair while he slept! The range was launched with the famous slogan, “If you don't look good, we don't look good.”
By 1982, sales of his hair care products alone had topped £87.7 million, and they were very popular on the US market.
Philanthropy
During the 1980s, Sassoon began to devote more of his time to philanthropy and gradually wound down his time spent hairdressing.
He supported philanthropic causes including the Performing Arts Council of the Music Centre of Los Angeles and the Boys’ Clubs of America through his Vidal Sassoon Foundation.
An active supporter of the relief efforts following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, he has also funded multiple educational facilities where needed, including in the UK, the US and Canada.
In 2009, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II awarded Sassoon the CBE in her Birthday Honours.
Despite it being 12 years since his death, Sassoon’s wonderful legacy continues. He is still inspiring people today through his hair salons and his Sassoon Academy.
Described as changing the way everyone looked at hair and as demonstrating the true art of styling, he will be forever remembered as one of the most iconic hairdressers of the 20th century.
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