Guess we should be thankful to Vidal Sassoon for reasons more than one. If his trending wash-and-wear styles brought about a women’s liberation hair- raising movement, he used his shears to emancipate the working woman from stylised curls and elaborate high and heavy hair styles.

His wash-and-wear styles included the bob, the pixie Five-Point cut and the short, tousled perm and the fact that all are still popular today speaks volumes of his sway in the fashion world.
 
City hairstylist Anahita K who studied at the Sassoon Academy at London and Canada and who met the iconic hairdresser briefly tells and shows us how great his famous ‘bob-cut’ can be!

His influence

Anahita points out how Vidal did away with all rollers, dryers and tweezers. “He was a man who managed to influence just about every hairstylist alive. Personally, he got me to realise the importance of a woman to have a wash-and-wear style that only makes her comfortable but also highly manageable for her,” says she.
 
He believed women in those times were starting to work and did not have the time and patience to make their hair. A student of his academy, Anahita closely learnt the art of a perfect cut. “I still follow his idea of wash, dry and move.
 
For me, a bob blunt could be wavy, straight or permed but it has to be cut fine and precise only then will you be able to carry it off well.”

Contemporary hair styling

Vidal did not strike gold at his first shot. He did have to experiment till the mid ‘60s to perfect his cut.  “A perfect hair style is all about the cut.

And, till date a bob is highly in demand only because of him. It is the ‘in’ styles every two or three years and will continue to rule. It will always be an evergreen style,” smiles Anahita.

On the maintenance of such styles she says, “Like I said before, if it is cut well you have nothing to worry. For example, in his academy you are not allowed to you combs or brushes while learning the art. Your fingers are your only tools. This is exactly what he wants every woman to do.”

Bone structure vs. choice

“Whether long or short, hair should be carved to a woman’s bone structure,” said Vidal. Anahita, essentially the Vidal Sassoon student differs slightly, “He believed in the bone structure and I completely respect his thoughts.
 
But then, if my client wants a particular style and then I can’t really force her otherwise. It is a personal choice and if she knows she can carry it off well, then why not.

A haircut usually depends on your occipital bone, nose, forehead and of course jawline. At the end of the day it your style of expression.”

  Famous quotes by Vidal Sassoon 

My idea was to cut shape into the hair, to use it like fabric and take away everything that was superfluous,” Sassoon said in 1993 in the Los Angeles Times, which first reported his death last Wednesday. “Women were going back to work, they were assuming their own power. They didn’t have time to sit under the dryer anymore.”

“Whether long or short, hair should be carved to a woman’s bone structure,” he told the Los Angeles Times in 1967. “Actually short hair is a state of mind ... not a state of age.”

Sassoon’s hair-care mantra: “To sculpt a head of hair with scissors is an art form. It’s in pursuit of art. Hairdressers are a wonderful breed,” he said. “You work one-on-one with another human being and the object is to make them feel so much better and to look at themselves with a twinkle in their eye.
 
Work on their bone structure, the colour, the cut, whatever, but when you’ve finished, you have an enormous sense of satisfaction.”

Photographer: Nikhil Ghorpade
Model: Aabha Chaubal