Celebrity style jubilee special: edgy eighties icons
Published
29th May 2012
by rachael
As the Queen celebrates 60 years on the throne, we look back at the changing celebrity hairstyles which have influenced hairdressing trends, clients and photographic collections since her reign began. Here we look at the edgy eighties icons that rocked a generation.
In an era that was all about excess, the eighties was all about flamboyant, OTT styles that made a statement. Bigger was better, and techniques like perming and crimping only helped to add to supersized styles.
For a post-punk generation, colour was nothing to be scared of and neon hues, peroxide blondes and dip-dye effects all found favour amongst experimental teens and celebrity icons alike.
Here celebrity Hairdresser, Richard Ward comments on 80s hair trends.
Blondie
"Blondie was the queen of 80's monochrome, oozing cool back then and still top of my cool barometer today. She was and is the ultimate rock chick. She has lived the life and got the t-shirt to prove it. She set the standard for glam rock and her timeless classy image is as relevant today as it was back in her heyday."
Madonna
"Madonna rocked my world throughout the 80s. For me she brought something different to the table. She seemed to come from nowhere. This girl that was in your face, wrote addictive pop tunes and had her own very distinctive sense of style that changed with the tempo and story behind her music. Madonna launched her own version of sexy grunge that was emulated on every high street and teen bedroom. She realised the importance of what image can do from very early on. When you look back, you can see the style icon in the making. She captured the imagination of a generation and her constant transformations have kept her at the forefront of today's modern media."
Toyah Wilcox
"I remember Toyah as being the punk girl that your mum could love; she crossed the divide between the dying breed of Punk Rocker and the emerging New Romantics.
Today's teenagers think Pink, Katie Perry and Rihanna are setting the trend in outlandish hair colour - but Toyah Wilcox was setting the trend back in the 80s which proves that what goes around comes around."
Cyndi Lauper
"I remember her first album "She's So Unusual" - it summed her up perfectly at the time. It launched her career as a major singer songwriter and someone with their own unique sense of image. The lyrics to many of her songs suited her style and were representative of the relaxed free spirited feel of the early eighties club scene."
