Sam mcknight: hairdressing icon

Sam McKnight is one the fashion industry's best-loved hairdressers, creating headline-making hair for the world's biggest magazines, designers and celebrities. He might count Chanel, Fendi, Balmain and Dior amongst his clients and be the recipient of countless awards, but Sam could surely claim his biggest accolade as being the longstanding creative collaborations he has maintained with some of the best names in the business for over 30 years. Patrick Demarchelier, Nick Knight and Mario Testino are amongst his regular collaborators, while Kate Moss and Lady Gaga are amongst the clients who turn to him for great hair - indeed, he was the stylist Kate turned to for her wedding. Sam didn't always plan to be a hairdresser. He initially worked as a teenager and fell into the industry unexpectedly, when he was offered a job at a friend's salon in Scotland. He soon got a taste for the industry and moved to London in 1975, where he worked for Molton Brown - one of the hottest salons in the capital at that time. After working on photo shoots for a number of magazines (including a first Vogue shoot in 1977), Sam decided to leave the security of a salon job and concentrate purely on editorial work - a move almost unheard of at the time, earning him the title of the original 'session stylist'. Luckily for Sam, his plan was a success, and he went on to spend 18 years in New York in the 80s styling the original supermodels and working with stylists including Grace Coddington and Katy England, who helped him make his name on high-profile shoots. Sam went on to travel the world with Princess Diana as her personal hairdresser for seven years, including styling the now-infamous slicked-back hairstyle in the 1990 Patrick Demarchelier shoot for Vogue. Other notable looks created by Sam include Agyness Deyn's bleach-blonde crop, Madonna's Bedtime Stories cover and Cate Blanchett's hair on the night she picked up her Oscar. Now living back in London, Sam has styled celebrities, worked on innumerable magazine covers and cemented his place in the fashion world by collaborating with the likes of Karl Lagerfeld, Mulberry and Vivienne Westwood. He was awarded the Lifetime Achievement title at the Scottish Fashion Awards in 2008. In 2013, Sam McKnight was named as global creative director for ghd, shooting a campaign with Rankin to cement the partnership. He also serves as global ambassador for Pantene, providing creative direction, styling hair for campaigns and co-creating a number of products. He might be a hairdressing icon, but Sam also knows how to have fun; his 30,000+ Instagram followers eagerly anticipate his regular garden updates - and wig appearances.