Vidal Sassoon changed for ever the way we think about hair
With her miniskirts, hot pants and theatrical makeup, Mary Quant made London swing in the early 1960s. But her look was completed by the liberating geometric haircuts of Vidal Sassoon
My first encounter with Vidal Sassoon was a tremendous shock. I saw this photograph of a haircut that absolutely astonished me. I had never seen hair styled like that before. The sign on the window said "Vidal Sassoon" and I discovered the man himself upstairs in an attic, reached by a ramshackle lift that could carry only one person or, more suitably, food. It was a tiny room, but up there he ruled, cutting hair and performing, rather like a four-star chef. He was a great show-off in the nicest possible way. Having steeled myself to take the lift, I sat there and simply watched. I didn't have the money for a Vidal Sassoon haircut that day, though I knew I would save up. This determination was hardened by a woman who turned out to be an actress called Jill Bennett, who, seeing my long, thick ponytail, shouted: "Don't do it!" But I did and never regretted it.
Vidal Sassoon completely changed hair. Before him, it was simply hairdressing: Vidal made it cut and style. He saw that, like architecture, hair could be cut into shapes and textures that not only flattered the character and texture of the hair, but projected the best qualities of the head and face, pointing out the cheekbones and focusing on the eyes, and making the maximum impact on the individuality of the face and personality. In the Japanese erotic tradition, he also focused on the back of the neck. As one of the great photographers said to me after a session: "Of course, Vidal Sassoon invented the way you look."
With extraordinary generosity, he set up Vidal Sassoon schools and taught everyone about his haircutting techniques and style. There is no country in the world where you cannot find a Vidal Sassoon disciple to cut your hair. He left this legion of stylists with a legacy of confidence to go on with their own ideas, developing and experimenting with the fun of the new.
He liberated women from the punishment of hours spent under the bonnet of a hairdryer, with fat rollers digging into their scalps. We found the freedom to swim in the sea, drive in an open-top car, walk in the rain and then just shake our head to look good again. Your hair did not forget the shape he created and it simply returned to base.
Vidal Sassoon, the pill and the miniskirt changed everything. For me, he produced the perfect cap on my leggy miniskirted designs and the frame for my colour cosmetics.
He became an international superstar, the only hair stylist – or crimper, as he might put it – who ever achieved international, world-class recognition. As he said in his book: "My scissors lifted me out of Petticoat Lane in the East End of London and took me all over the world."
Any taxi driver will tell you he grew up with Vidal Sassoon or has had him in his cab. He will then go on to tell you that Vidal was the nicest man in the world. And they then would say: "By the way, your barnet looks good!"
His good sense and modesty took Vidal to the Old Vic, where he asked them to modify his cockney voice. So, as Vidal said, he could do "East End" or "Laurence Olivier". Vidal's voice and charm enchanted people here and abroad.
Although his mother had to put him in an orphanage when he was five, because the family was so poor, he was not at all bitter about this; he adored his mother, who visited him all the time at the orphanage when he was a boy. They were very close.
Vidal was the kindest man in the world and when he was opening his first salon in New York, which must have been one of the most terrifying and important days of his life, I was also showing my collection in New York. He offered to cut my hair at six o'clock that morning, so he would have time to do it for me, and he did. That's friendship.
On Friday 12 October, a service was held to celebrate the life of Vidal Sassoon CBE at St Paul's cathedral. How Vidal would have loved it, being such a man of theatre himself. The service was the most awesome, exquisite and perfect I have ever been to. The acoustics must be the best in the world – the music, the choir and the singing were beautiful beyond belief. What a tribute to an amazing man who had an amazing life.
Vidal's wife, Ronnie, kindly sat me with Vidal's family, including his six-year-old grandchild, who clutched me round my knees, buried her head in my lap and wailed: "I just want him back… I just want him back."
So do I and so do we all.
Read the Guardian obituary here