Vidal Sassoon has sadly passed today in his Los Angeles home at the age of 84. He was an extraordinarily respected hairdresser who revolutionized the industry and became one of the first hairdressers to gain fame and become a household name. As a hairdresser, you can’t stumble through beauty school without learning about the great master, and his death is most definitely the ending of an era. Here are a mere 10 of Sassoon’s most iconic hairstyles that put him on the map as a legendary beauty icon.


His name is even mentioned in the Roman Polanski film Rosemary’s Baby when Mia Farrow takes the epic plunge into her famous cropped cut. Her husband hates it, reflecting the mixed feelings of a society where women weren’t used to breaking down barriers. His haircuts fell in line with a great many strides for women, making them feel like individuals with a unique voice. His geometric, “Bauhaus-inspired” cuts eliminated the need for weekly setting and heavy styling, and embraced a woman’s distinct bone structure as well as her texture.

He didn’t mind rattling cages, and was eventually deemed a pioneer of the industry for his tireless vision and determination. He trained dozens of stylists to follow in his inspirational footsteps and opened his own franchise of academies. He is among the famous names we have to thank for an industry that is now known as an “art” rather than just a service. He will be sorely missed, and always remembered.

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