Beehives, bobs & blowdries – free hair exhibition

Beehives, Bobs & Blowdries, the first of its kind exhibition curated by fashion research consultant and senior academic at Solent University, Donna Bevan (FRSA,) and renowned, award-winning hairdresser Andrew Barton (Hon Doc), is back! Returning to the Caygill Rooms in the magnificent, Grade 1 listed building The Piece Hall, Halifax, the event will take place from 17 September – 16 October 2022, coinciding with Heritage Open Days Festival. After a hugely successful launch in 2018, Donna and Andrew have brought this exhibition back with the ambition to re-frame the hair and fashion story with additional content, including a focus on sustainability and hair futures. Beehives, Bobs & Blowdries celebrates the art and skills of hairdressing along with some of the most iconic looks of the past 70 years. Often overlooked, fashion would not be complete without that iconic hairstyle. This exhibition is all about hair and turning fashion on its head. Andrew often refers to hair as a fabric that can be manipulated to create something truly artistic and instil confidence for his clients and his art as a stylist. The UK has trained so many of the industry’s key movers and shakers (and many household names, like Andrew). They have been setting, tweaking, cutting, colouring and blowing the trends throughout the decades and the exhibition aims to showcase and celebrate the very best of British hairdressing talent. This unique exhibition charts the hairstyles through the decades, integrating the key innovations in the hair industry, the rituals of the salon environment, technological breakthroughs in salon products and the influence of hair fashion trends and subcultural styles. Donna and Andrew are excited to be collaborating with the wonderful charity, Haircuts 4 Homeless, to include a supplementary exhibition of images from their recent projects and book. This will be displayed in the Long Gallery at The Piece Hall to coincide with the Beehives, Bobs & Blowdries exhibition. Andrew commented: “We knew there was a story to be told about hair, its meaning and its codes. Donna and I grew up together in the same Yorkshire village where her mother played an integral part in the community, owning the village salon, ‘Pam’s Unisex salon’, where my mother and grandmother went each week to be styled. I would meet them there each Friday afternoon and you could say it’s where my hair fascination started. It’s an honour to have collaborated with Donna on this project who is as passionate about hair and hairdressing as I am.” Donna added: “It’s always a pleasure to be collaborating with Andrew. This exhibition allows us to bring together our passion for this amazing industry and its legacy. We have the perfect combination of skills and expertise, which has allowed us to evolve this unique look at hair. The future of the hair salon industry is important to this new version of the exhibition with sustainability and innovation at its core. Quite simply, we want to take you back to the hair future.” Beehives, Bobs & Blowdries is sponsored by L’Oreal Professionnel, plus Andrew Barton London Education (ABLE), Banbury Postiche, Haircuts 4 Homeless, Little Princess Trust, Pink Gin Vintage, Racoon International, SLBPR and Solent University. For more information, click here. @beehivesbobsandblowdries Image credits: Hair by Andrew Barton Photography by Gino Spiro Make-up by BA Hons Make-up Pro Team, Solent University Art Direction by Donna Bevan