Vidal Sassoon CBE (1928 – 2012) was a British-American hairstylist. He was noted for re-popularising a simple, close-cut geometric hairstyle called the Bob cut, worn by famous fashion designers like Mary Quant.
Born into extreme poverty, Sassoon was raised in an orphanage. After quitting school at age 14 he became an apprentice hairdresser by recommendation of his mother. After developing a reputation for his innovation Sassoon moved to Los Angles in the early 1970s, where he began a chain of salons. He sold his business interests in the early 1980s to devote himself to philanthropy, however, his mark on fashion was so prominent that he was selected by Sir Peter Blake to appear in a new version of his most famous artwork – the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover – to celebrate the British cultural figures of the last six decades.
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