Designer File.
Mark Hayes. By Jenny Burns.
When it comes to the world of Vidal Sassoon, it’s never just about the length of a fringe or an angle of asymmetry. “A Sassoon haircut is always a reflection of the times,” explains International Creative Director Mark Hayes, a Sassoon disciple for nearly three decades who is as passionate about the fashion and beauty elements in his collections as the hair itself. “I am absolutely fanatical about authenticity and by being able to control the fashion and beauty elements of our collections ensures that the look in terms of fashion, makeup, music and visuals are totally unique to Sassoon.”
Complete creative control is something that most designers can only dream of. But to be a driving force behind each element that plays part in a final image is something that has been an important part of the Sassoon philosophy since the early days when the master himself was at the creative helm. Just as Vidal’s original collections were complemented by the designs of young British designer Mary Quant, Mark Hayes and his team follow a similar path, collaborating with young British designers such as Cecilia Mary Robson and other innovators in the worlds of fashion, photography, film, beauty and music to build a complete picture for the direction the Sassoon design ethic is heading in, and making for a much richer story for its audience.
“Creating a collection is one of the most rewarding and exciting areas of my role as International Creative Director,” says Mark, “as it brings into play so many like-minded creative individuals from inside and outside of the company. Sassoon has always collaborated with creative individuals in fashion and related fields. It has never been enough for Sassoon just to produce a series of images.”
When it comes to the design process, rather than follow a structured chronology the beginning is more fluid and organic; a melding of thoughts, ideas and concepts that may be new or might have been stored away in creative minds for some time.
“The collection may start from a very abstract source or with an idea in hair that I have seen,” Mark describes. “It may be added to by a piece of music, a conversation at an evening workshop with the creative team or simply from walking down a street somewhere in the world where inspiration will just appear and suddenly what has been a series of seemingly disconnected events will start to form into something a little more coherent.
“The beginnings of the idea, once formed in my head, quickly adopt a visual and audio language as I have the very first imaginings of the soundtrack or the setting to the new collection. These ideas, nebulous at best, are then talked through with Bruce Masefield and Edward Darley who add to the mix with thoughts on cutting and colouring techniques. Casting dates are set and the whole team is briefed on the new collection, who then go and do their own research into the key themes so that they can bring their own individual feel to the story.”
Next comes the process of transferring those thoughts and inspirations into something tangible. Moodboards, sketch books and technical headsheets are developed and look books with very specific thoughts on clothes and styling ideas are compiled. Enter Caroline Cox, Sassoon’s very own fashion historian, who starts to put the ideas, thoughts and feelings into more of a social and economic context. The collection now starts to take shape as a more complete story, with very particular historical references of fashion and style.
During this process, clothes coordinator Tabitha Owen and Mark work with illustrator Olwen Bourke, who will typically produce initial sketches that, once approved, will turn into finished illustrations and technical drawings. Fabrics are sourced and given to clothes producer Cecilia Shiels, who is briefed on the collection and shown the drawings and inspirations. Cecilia will then cut patterns and create toiles for the three or four fittings that take place before the final garments are created.
“At the same time the clothing is developing, I meet with our makeup artist Daniel Kolaric and discuss the ideas and inspirations behind the collection so that he can develop headsheets of the makeup with written explanation on the beauty story that will define our look for that season,” Mark continues. “Throughout the whole process I am constantly thinking of the music that will accompany the collection. This is a hugely important part, as music is such a potent element of the overall feeling of the collection. The finished tracks are usually a combination of sourced commercial and originated music designed specifically for the collection.
“The shoot takes place around five months after the first ideas were formed and is subsequently released around four months later, which means that we are working approximately nine months ahead. As we release three Academy Collections a year it sometimes does get a little confusing, especially as we also release two Salon Collections a year, so in any one academy year we would be developing around 20 or so fashion looks. There are also step-by-step diagrams on how the hair is cut and coloured together with technical diagrams and a powerpoint presentation that is distributed to the team, who then in turn conduct their own workshops and soirees to perfect these looks so that the collection can be replicated anywhere in the world.”
Sassoon’s latest academy collection, ‘Deco Deluxe’, explored a very specific time between 1909 and 1939, when modernism arose like a phoenix from the ashes of the Great War to sweep away the febrile swirls of Art Nouveau. It focused on how the socio-economic and design trends of that period really mirror what is going on in society today.
“The new energy of the modernist movement, fascinated as it was with female emancipation, technology and the speed and dynamism of urban life in the new great metropolis, was set against the backdrop of the arts and crafts movement, which was advocating a return to pastoral times and used naturally occurring, organic forms as inspiration,” describes Mark. “Modernism was right for the age of the machine; hard-edged, clean cut and pared down to purity. Today, in a similar way to the arts and crafts movement, we are all very aware of ecological issues, global warming, environmental concerns and carbon footprints and there is huge interest in ‘eco-living’, but everyone also wants international travel, iPads and the newest technology to make our 21st century lives more time efficient.
“One of the key features of the Deco period was fluid lines that gave the impression of speed and dynamic movement. Designs were based on very aerodynamic elongated shapes and symmetry was championed as a beautiful aesthetic. The most cutting edge designers were using fabrics that evoked a sense of liquid metal with the female form being treated as a ‘beautiful machine’, transported from the paintings of Tamara de Lempicka, who was herself the epitome of Art Deco glamour.”
The Sassoon interpretation of these early 20th century influences was a collection where the hair was cut into a series of elongated darts, extended, accentuated and attenuated, mirroring the motifs of Art Deco graphics and giving the looks an effortless pared-down elegance. Gowns are sensuously draped over the models’ frames; dark eyes and lips reflect glamour from a bygone era.
So next time you see a Sassoon image, you really will understand why it’s about so much more than a haircut.