Thu, May 10, 2012
LEGENDARY hair stylist Vidal Sassoon has died at the age of 84 after battling leukaemia since 2009.
The British-born hairdresser’s name has been among the most recognised in the fashion world for the past 50 years.
His clients included Hollywood stars such as Ava Gardner, Rita Hayworth and Elizabeth Taylor as well as the model Jean Shrimpton and fashion designer Mary Quant who called him the ‘Chanel of hair’.
As well as inventing the ‘wedge’ style haircut in the 1960s he was the first stylist to allow his name to be used on products and salons. He is credited for creating several wash-and-go hairstyles including the bob, the five-point cut and the ‘Greek Goddess’, a short, tousled perm.
His death was confirmed last night by Los Angeles Police who attended his home in the Hollywood Hills. His family were by his bedside.
Sassoon was diagnosed with leukemia in 2009 but chose to keep the news private. He revealed last year that he had the illness and was treated in Beverly Hills and at the Cromwell Hospital in London. His fourth wife Ronnie was said to have been a ‘tower of strength’ during his illness.
Sassoon, who was awarded a CBE in 2009, was also successfully treated for skin cancer in 2004.
He has lived in America since the late 1970s, when he opened his first salon there. Such was his fame he went on to have his own chat show as he became ‘hairdresser to the stars’.
Fellow hairdresser Lee Stafford told the BBC: 'Sassoon revolutionized the way everybody wears their hair today, he also made British hairdressing the best in the world, he was my hero.'
