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r.i.p. vidal
May 9, 2012

Vidal Sassoon: A History in Haircuts

By Charlotte Cowles

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Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

The late Vidal Sassoon opened his first salon in London in 1954, when he was only 26 years old. In the early sixties, his signature angled bobs became enormously popular, and today, the look is synonymous with mod, swinging London. Sassoon worked his magic on some of the most stylish heads of the sixties, including Grace Coddington, Mary Quant, Emmanuelle Khanh, and Sylvia Syms. He once pinned £10,000-worth of diamonds into opera singer Denny Dayriss’s hair for a performance; he also gave Mia Farrow her famous Rosemary’s Baby cut in 1967. See our slideshow for a roundup of his best hairstyling moments.

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Vidal Sassoon Dead at 84
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1 / 16 Photos
October 1955 Showing off hairstyles at his newly opened London salon. Photo: Popperfoto
1962 At Sassoon's salon in London. Photo: ? Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
January 1963 Actress Janette Scott gets a long bob with bangs. Photo: M. McKeown
April 1963 South African opera singer Denny Dayriss gets her hair dressed with £10,000-worth of diamonds by Sassoon at his salon in London ... April 1963 South African opera singer Denny Dayriss gets her hair dressed with £10,000-worth of diamonds by Sassoon at his salon in London to sing at a charity ball at the Dorchester Hotel. The event raised funds for the White Fleet, an organization that converted former navy vessels into hospital ships that were despatched to disaster areas. Photo: Keystone
September 1963 Fashion designer Emmanuelle Khanh gets a swinging bob in London. Photo: Kent Gavin
October 1964 Jillian Robertson with a "lopsided" hairstyle at Sassoon's salon in London. Photo: Chris Ware
1964 In an ad for Clairol.
1965 Actress Sylvia Syms gets a haircut. Photo: ? Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
1965 Grace Coddington modeling one of Sassoon's hairstyles. Photo: David Montgomery/2010 Getty Images
August 1967 Giving Mia Farrow her famous Rosemary's Baby haircut in California. Photo: Hulton Archive
1970 At Sassoon's salon in London. Photo: Terry O’Neill/2005 Getty Images
February 1975 Giving a hairstyling demonstration at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Photo: Evening Standard
February 1975 Showing off two contrasting examples of his hairstyles at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Photo: Tim Graham
December 1975 With his ex-wife Beverly Sassoon at the Beauty Hall of Fame Awards at the Pierre Hotel in New York. Photo: Ron Galella/1975 Ron Gal... December 1975 With his ex-wife Beverly Sassoon at the Beauty Hall of Fame Awards at the Pierre Hotel in New York. Photo: Ron Galella/1975 Ron Galella
1985 An ad for Sassoon's hair products.
1980s An ad for Vidal Sassoon products.
1 / 16

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  • r.i.p. vidal
  • vidal sassoon
  • slideshow
  • mary quant
  • mia farrow
  • grace coddington
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