| Stylist was a loyalist in Sassoon's hair 'revolution' Phillip Mason was an aspiring 20-year-old hairdresser in 1964 when he traveled from Detroit to see Vidal Sassoon in Chicago, a trip that changed his life. For Mason, who left the Midwest to study under Sassoon, watching the stylist from London work hair was like watching Pablo Casals straddle a cello. "This was a person who changed the way things were done in every salon in America," said Mason, whose Hair Legends salon on East Jackson Street in Medford salutes Sassoon's influence. He approached hair like designers cut fabric. They thought we were crazy young people with funny accents - most of the others were from England - and it was just a trend. Mason was Sassoon's first American artistic director, charged with staff training, handling magazine work and fielding questions from the icon's clientele. Even after Sassoon sold his line of hair-care products and his salon chain for millions of dollars, he kept in touch with many of his disciples. "I was a shampoo boy - an assistant who washed and blow-dried people's hair or brought them a cup of coffee - during the day," Mason said. Wigs were a major aspect of the styling revolution, and among Mason's duties was preparation of faux hair for Broadway actress Carol Channing and vocalists Diana Ross |
Sunday 13 May 2012
Stylist was a loyalist in Sassoon's hair 'revolution'
