Our hero Vidal Sassoon

"Longevity is a fleeting moment that lasts forever." - Vidal Sassoon

As I'm sure all of you know our industry recently lost a great man. Vidal Sassoon will remain a hairdressing legend! Vidal decided from a young age that if he must be a hair dresser he would have to be the best hairdresser, and he did just that. Vidal is and always will be a house hold name. You can't even talk about the history of hairdressing without mentioning his name.

Vidal was the genius behind the classic wedge bob. He is decried as the man who changed the world with a pair of scissors. Vidal trained under the great Raymond Bessone, in his salon in Mayfair. Vidal credits Bessone for teaching him how to cut hair saying he couldn't have achieved what he did without Bessone. Sassoon opened his first salon in 1954 in London. Sassoon's client list included some of the most famous starts of the day- including Twiggy, Jean Shrimpton, Terence Stamp and Mia Farrow for her look in Rosemary's Baby. In 1963 he created the classic bob for fashion designer Mary Quant, who was doing for clothes what Sassoon was doing for hairstyles. 

In 1964 Vidal was ready to think bigger: he went international and opened his first salon in New York City. Within five years he had salons in Toronto and in Beverly Hill and he had his first hairdressing school in London. Even though he had many successful salons in the Untied States he never actually acquired his hairdressing license in the states. 

I had the wonderful opportunity of meeting Vidal in 2007 at the North American Hair Dresser Awards. I was with my parents, my uncle Aaron. I was introduced to him. I shook his hand but was to nervous to tell him my name. Even at a young age I was aware of who I was meeting and what he had done for our industry. It was one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had. He was poised and polite. I never thought a man of his status could be so gracious and kind. I will forever cherish that moment at NAHA!