Page 24 - All About History 58 - 2017 UK

HAIR & BEAUTY

Hall of Fame

INSPIRATIONAL STYLISTS
Meet the hairdressers and trendsetters who defined entire
eras with their iconic cuts

LEÓNARD AUTIÉ FRENCH C.1751-1820
Lavishly decorated hairstyles were the hallmark
of Léonard Autié. His “magical comb” caught the
eyes of many Parisian noblewomen, but he is
best remembered as Queen Marie Antoinette’s
hairdresser. He created a number of unique and
extravagant hairstyles for her, including the famous
pouf, which became synonymous with her
time as queen. Autié opened his own salon
Vidal Sassoon
In 1791, Autié and hairdressing school, the Académie perfecting one of his
founded and de coiffeur, in 1787, at a time when VIDAL SASSOON legendary avant-garde
cuts on Mary Quant
hairdressing was emerging as a real BRITISH 1928-2012
managed the Italian profession. While Marie Antoinette and One of the most iconic hairstylists entered his
Léonard’s creations opera company Théâtre many of the other women he styled career after a premonition from his mother
defined Marie Antoinette
as a fashion icon de Monsieur alongside lost their heads during the French that hairdressing was the right path for him.
Revolution, Autié escaped to Russia. Vidal Sassoon’s sharp, geometric looks like
Monsieur, Comte the five-point cut catapulted him to fame
de Provence Kenneth’s clientele during the 1960s. His hairstyles were easy
to maintain and liberated women from the
JEAN HARLOW included Judy Garland,
AMERICAN 1911-37 Jackie Kennedy and time-consuming hairdos that dominated the
The original blonde bombshell, Marilyn Monroe 1950s. Success led him to launch salons across
actress Jean Harlow’s striking platinum blonde hair London and the US, a product line and a series
captivated audiences across America. It caused of training academies that still run to this day.
numerous women to reach for the dye in an His clients included Mia Farrow, Elizabeth
attempt to recreate Harlow’s iconic colour, although Taylor and Mary Quant, making him one of
she always maintained that her hair was natural. the world’s first celebrity hairdressers.
Her stylist, Alfred Pagano, later admitted that he
used a combination of Clorox bleach, ammonia,
peroxide and Lux soap flakes on a weekly basis to “If you don’t look good,
achieve her icy colour. It has been suggested that
this toxic combination, which produces noxious we don’t look good”
gas, may have contributed to her early death from
kidney failure, aged just 26. Vidal Sassoon

KENNETH BATTELLE
Kenneth was AMERICAN 1927-2013
Sassoon’s American counterpart, Kenneth Battelle,
the first and only became famous for popularising soft, romantic
hairdresser to ever looks devoid of thick hairspray and heavy bleaching.
He created Jackie Kennedy’s signature bouffant to
win the Coty American
frame and enhance her features. Battelle even cut
Fashion Critics’ her hair the day before her husband, President John
Award, which he F Kennedy, was assassinated. Interestingly, Battelle
came to the rescue of Marilyn Monroe when her
won in 1961
Jean Harlow was hair began to fall out in 1958 after years of perms
Marilyn Monroe’s and bleaching. He styled her hair ahead of her
childhood idol infamous ‘Happy Birthday’ performance and for her
last Vogue shoot, just a few weeks before her death.

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