Vidal Sassoon was born in 1928 in London and is considered one of the greatest and most influential hairdressers of all time. When a young teenager, Vidal’s mother had a dream about him being a barber. Acting on the dream she had, Vidal was soon introduced as an apprentice barber at a local hairdressers.
Adopting an all-or-nothing ethos, Vidal thought if he was going to be a hairdresser, he was going to be the best ever! Vidal decided to become the best hairdresser he would have to put on a ‘posh’ English accent, and he soon found work in London’s plush West End.
From a Jewish background, Vidal found himself cutting hair by day, and by night taking to the streets in anti-Fascists gangs fighting the Fascist groups under Mosley’s command.
After WW2, Vidal went to the new state of Israel to fight for the Jewish homeland. On return from Israel, Vidal founded his first hair salon on Bond Street.
By the early 1960s, Vidal had pioneered new hairstyles which landed him the title of “the founder of modern hairdressing”. He went on to grow his salons into a chain in the UK and US before launching hair-care products under his name.
Ranked 41st in the City & Guilds vocational rich list, Vidal is estimated to have a wealth of circa £80million.
