Continuing our celebration of Sassoon's 70th Anniversary, HJ is taking a look back at the most iconic haircuts by the man himself, Vidal Sassoon. We’ve already delved into The Nancy Kwan and the Five Point, and now we’ll be taking a look at the time Vidal Sassoon was flown to Los Angeles to cut the hair of actor Mia Farro on the set of Rosemary’s Baby, at Paramount studios in Hollywood.
Describing the experience, Vidal once said: “The soundstage was roped off like a boxing ring and the press rushed down from their seats and were on top of us immediately. They weren’t just breathing down my neck – they were damn near breaking it. They crowded and pushed, hung out of the rafters and lay on the floor. And all the time I was dancing round that small blonde head, snipping here, flicking a comb there, using the ring, jostling and being jostled, while the flashbulbs popped. It was a psychedelic scene.”
The resulting image, captured by Terence Donavan, is the ultimate in androgynous sensuality. “The look Vidal created is still referenced today as the ultimate gamine look,” says Mark Hayes, Creative Director at Sassoon. “Notice how the edge is left in its natural form, this was a key aspect of Vidal’s work, the fact that the hairline growth patterns were always incorporated into the overall design of the shape.”
