Twiggy by Leonard Lewis, 1966
The cut that launched 'The Face' of 1966.
At just 16, Twiggy went into the Mayfair salon of Leonard Lewis, known as Leonard of Mayfair, to have her hair shampooed and set when Leonard asked to try out his new 'Vidal Sasson' haircut on her. Beauty photographer Barry Lategan then took her picture – the now-iconic black and white portraits – which Lewis put up in the salon. A journalist saw it and that is the pivotal moment that launched her career.
“I was so shy and I was in this very posh salon in Mayfair so I was a bit too shy to say I don’t want it done and I kind of nodded,” she says. She returned to the salon the next day where she spent the next seven hours having it cut and coloured before being photographed by Barry Lategan “That’s how it all happened,” Twiggy says. “I actually loved it, I mean he was an amazing hair cutter.”
Mia Farrow in Rosemary's Baby by Vidal Sasson, 1968
Director Roman Polanski paid hairstylist Vidal Sassoon $5,000 to cut off Mia Farrow's long hair in front of reporters for Rosemary's Baby. Farrow's soft pixie cut became an overnight sensation. "It's Vidal Sassoon!" her character gushes in the film. "It's very in." Indeed.
Dolly Parton forever
“People always ask me how long it takes to do my hair. I don’t know, I’m never there.” - Dolly Parton
It's no secret that Miss Dolly wears wigs, and why not? After years of teasing, straightening and bleaching her hair to its breaking point, she decided the perfect solution was to wear wigs, which soon became her signature look. With a collection that has grown to include a new 'do for every day of the year she literally cannot have a bad hair day, "only a big hair day" as she says.
Fun fact: In the 90s she actually introduced her own line of wigs manufactured through Revlon - these are no longer in production but that's commitment.
Farrah Fawcett by Garren, 1978
"This was when everything hit for me because I took the angel out of Farrah Fawcett and made her hair straight. She was in every newspaper."
Garren on working with Farrah "The first day we did her hair the fluffy, curly Farrah look and it was all these gorgeous European clothes. But the second day, I blew it out and I did a side part and swept her hair and I did a straight bob. Farrah took a look and said, “I’m for it.” Well, that night she went to a launch party at Studio 54, and the next morning the pictures come out in the Post and the Daily News and there’s Farrah Fawcett with this half straight, half curly look and everyone is saying she’s got a new look."
Linda Evangelista by Julien d'Ys, 1988
She was crying, he was nervous, the Vogue moment that happened on a whim and quadrupled Linda Evangelista's rate. “Within two months I made the grand slam: covers of American Vogue, Italian Vogue, British Vogue, and French Vogue.”
Julien d'Ys says “I didn’t know what I was going to do until I started doing it,” After cutting off her ponytail (which he has at home to this day), he began shaping it into a boyish crop. “My inspiration was in my head. In America, I had seen a box of Florida oranges that had a picture of a little boy with a bob haircut on it. It reminded me a bit of the Beatles.”
Princess Diana by Sam Mcknight, 1990
One of the most iconic hairstyles of the 90s was cut and styled by Sam Mcknight; who is still creating some of the best looks on runways today - think Chanel, Fendi, Prada and Vivienne Westwood to name a few.
Sam McKnight and Princess Diana worked together on a Vogue shoot in 1990. He tucked her hair back to make it look shorter, with a tiara perched on top — "I made her hair look short in the tiara for the shoot and she decided she liked it, as she was leaving, Diana asked what would I do to her hair if I had free reign, I said, Cut it off, get rid of the ’80s frou-frou and start again with a minimal, short haircut.’ Which is what we did.” Diana's iconic short hair was the look from then on.
The Rachel by Chris McMillan, 1994
The haircut Jennifer Aniston looks back on as the “ugliest" haircut she's ever seen - brutal.
Chris McMillan says: "The Rachel came together for a specific reason. She had bangs that I thought she should grow out, so I brought up the length to make the bangs seem longer. Then I pulled the hair over so she didn’t look like she had bangs, and the layers started falling forward, and that’s how it started looking like that haircut.”
Jennifer Aniston says: "Well, Chris McMillan, who we all know and love, was loaded when he gave me the haircut. Stoned out of his mind, so, which is true, and he didn't think about, 'Oh, she's going to have to do this herself. Look, I'm having a great time being creative with this blow dryer and he leaves me with a round brush and a hairdryer. I don't know how to make it look like that!"
Meg Ryan by Sally Hershberger, 1995
Meg Ryans character in the movie 'French Kiss' was stranded in Paris without luggage, money or a place to live, so her hairstylist Sally Hershberger, had to create a style that looked bad but sort of good at the same time.
“While we were working it out during the camera test, she punctuated some remark she was making by pulling the curling iron way over her head,” Meg Ryan says. “A sizable chunk of my hair had singed off and was still wrapped around the iron. I noticed the flame first. For a second Sally looked like the Statue of Liberty: frozen, torch aloft and a little green. You can’t really blame her for the iron’s overheating because of the different voltages in Europe. She was left to scissor away until we got what we got." - the iconic shaggy, piece-y cropped style.
