MARK YOUR CALENDARS: “VIDAL SASSOON: THE MOVIE”

Hairstyling in the modern sense did not exist before Vidal Sassoon. That’s why you have to see the movie about the octogenarian icon’s massive contributions to the worlds of hairdressing, international style, pop culture and fashion. Here’s the link:

http://www.vidalsassoonthemovie.com/

Vidal Sassoon’s impact upon the everyday lives of gals everywhere is right up there with, well, the invention of pantyhose, Polaroid cameras, the felt-tip pen, or the electric toothbrush (all from the same era), for instance.  In the pre-Sassoon world, a woman basically had one choice of coiff: the helmet. Stiff, teased, lacquered, held in place by hairpins. Tightly wrapped, like a sausage, in a night-cap before bed each night. Freshly sprayed to crispy hardness each morning. Reluctantly shampooed every two weeks or so, for a “wet-and-set”. Am I describing the Middle Ages? No, I am describing the world prior to about 1960, just before the young Sassoon went on a rampage in his native England.

The result: liberated, spontaneous, free-falling, wash-and-wear hair. Sassoon literally pulled out those hairpins, and just wrestled those rock-hard updos under the hose. Instead of using backcombing, pins and lacquer to fight gravity, Sassoon combed the hair out and cut it into sleek variations on the basic bob. This was hair that actually MOVED, shook and shimmied—it defined Mod London and the Swinging 60’s, luv! Think of Twiggy’s classic cut in those Yardley of London ads—that was Sassoon’s mastery. Ditto Mary Quant, Peggy Moffitt, and so much more.

An astute businessman, virtually overnight Sassoon also created the consumer market for shampoos and conditioners to be used at home (versus the salon) every day. We take the daily shampoo, along with our wash-and-wear and DIY styling, for granted. But ask your mum or your grandma: this just was not the case before the Beatles shook their famous moptops, also inspired by the Sassoon revolution.

The documentary, VIDAL SASSOON: THE MOVIE, was made by several creative folk from Bumble + bumble, and will show in Los Angeles on Friday, February 18, at the Laemmle Sunset 5 Theatre, 8000 W. Sunset Blvd, 323-848-3500 (www.laemmle.com). The inner “Rapunzel” in all of us owes a huge debt to Sassoon, for setting our locks free!