Career
Sassoon resumed his hairdressing training under Raymond Bessone in his salon in Mayfair.[16] Sassoon opened his first salon in1954 inLondon;[17] singer-actress Georgia Brown, his friend and neighbour, claimed to be his first customer.[18]
Sassoon stated his intentions in designing new, more efficient, hair styles: "If I was going to be in hairdressing, I wanted to change things. I wanted to eliminate the superfluous and get down to the basic angles of cut and shape."[19] Sassoon's works include the geometric perm and the "Nancy " hairstyles. They were all modern and low-maintenance. The hairstyles created by Sassoon relied on dark, straight, and shiny hair cut into geometric yet organic shapes. Peggy Moffitt’s hairstyle, an asymmetrical bowl cut[20] created by Sassoon, became known as the "five point".[21]
In 1964, Sassoon created a short, angular hairstyle cut on a horizontal plane that was the recreation of the classic "bob cut". His geometric haircuts seemed to be severely cut, but were entirely lacquer-free, relying on the natural shine of the hair for effect. Advertising and cosmetics executive Natalie Donay is credited with discovering Sassoon in London and bringing him to the United States,[22] where in1965, he opened his first New York City salon on Madison Avenue.[23]
In 1966, inspired by 1920s film star Clara Bow's close-cropped hair, he created designs for Emanuel Ungaro. Director Roman Polanski brought him to Hollywood from London in1968, at a cost of $5,000, to create a unique pixie cut for Mia Farrow, who was to star in Rosemary's Baby.
In the early 1970s, Sassoon made Los Angeles his home. In1971, he promoted his 30-year-old second-in-command, artistic director Roger Thompson, to director of the Sassoonsalon, explaining jocularly that, "Twenty-five years of schlepping behind a barber chair are enough!"[24] John Paul DeJoria, a friend of Sassoon, co-founded Paul Mitchell Systems with Paul Mitchell, one of Sassoon's former students. Mitchell said that Sassoon was "the most famous hairstylist in the history of the world".
Sassoon began his "Vidal Sassoon" line of hair-care products in1973.[25] The actor Michael Caine, who when young and struggling "was roommates with Terence Stamp and Vidal Sassoon – he used to cut my hair, and he always had a lot of models around",[26] claimed to have inspired this, saying, "I told him that he must have something that is working for him while he slept. I told him he had to make shampoos and other hair-care products."[27] Whatever the inspiration, Sassoon's brand was applied to shampoos and conditioners sold worldwide, with a commercial campaign featuring the slogan "If don't look good, don't look good."[28] Former salon colleagues also bought Sassoon's salons and acquired the right to use his name, extending the brand in salons into the United Kingdom and the United States.
The El Paso, Texas-based Helen of Troy Corporation began manufacturing and marketing Sassoon hair-care products in1980.[29] In1983, Richardson-Vicks purchased the LosAngeles-based Vidal SassoonInc.[30] as well as Sassoon's Santa Monica hairdressing school; the company had already bought his European businesses.[31] Sassoon's 1982sales of hair products had topped $110million, with 80percent of revenues coming from theUS.[30]
Two years later the company was bought by Procter& Gamble. Sassoon, who remained a consultant through at least the mid-1990s,[31] sued P&G in2003 for allegedly neglecting the marketing of his brand in favour of the company's other hair product lines, such as Pantene; the parties reached a settlement the following year.[32]
He sold his business interests in the early1980s to devote himself to philanthropy. By2004, it was reported that Sassoon was no longer associated with the brand that bears his name. He also had a short-lived television series called Your New Day with Vidal Sassoon, which aired in1980.
Sassoon was twice a guest on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, on 27June 1970[33] and 9October 2011, when he was also Resident Thinker on the Nowhereisland art project.[34] He was a mystery guest on What's My Line? in March1967.[35]
