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1960s-1990s

Vidal Sassoon

The architect of the geometric cut

Vidal Sassoon rewrote how a haircut could behave. Working out of his London salon through the 1960s, he replaced the era's heavily set, lacquered shapes with cuts engineered to fall back into place on their own. The bob, the five-point cut, and the geometric crops he developed redefined what modern hair could look like, and the salons and academies he built carried his cutting method around the world.

See Vidal Sassoon’s signature cuts on your own face

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Signature looks

  1. The five-point cut

    An angular geometric cut with five distinct points framing the face. Created in 1964, it became shorthand for the modern London cut and was worn most famously by Mary Quant.

    Flatters an oval faceFlatters a square face

  2. The bob

    Sassoon's version of the bob (especially the chin-length blunt cut) was engineered to fall cleanly without setting. The cut that made the bob a credible everyday style rather than a 1920s curiosity.

    Flatters an oval faceFlatters a heart-shaped faceFlatters a long (oblong) face

  3. The five-point cut for Mia Farrow

    A version of the geometric pixie that Mia Farrow wore in Rosemary's Baby (1968). The cut became one of the most-copied looks of the late sixties.

    Flatters an oval faceFlatters a heart-shaped face

  4. The asymmetric bob

    An angled version of the classic bob, longer at the front than the back. Sassoon used the asymmetry to elongate or soften specific face shapes deliberately.

    Flatters a round faceFlatters a square face

Notable clients

  • Mia Farrow
  • Mary Quant
  • Nancy Kwan
  • Grace Coddington

Why their work matters

Sassoon's contribution was structural. He cut hair the way an architect designs a building, using the head's geometry to decide where a line should fall. The 'wash and wear' premise (hair that holds its shape after a wash without setting or pinning) freed an entire generation of women from daily salon visits. The Sassoon academies trained the cutting standards used in salons everywhere today, which is why even a stylist who has never heard the name still cuts in lines Sassoon drew first.

Try Vidal Sassoon’s signature looks on your face

Hairstyle Analysis renders eight cuts directly onto a selfie of you, including the layered, fringed, and wave-led shapes Vidal Sassoon has built a career around. See which signature suits your features before you book a chair.

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$4.99 one-time, no subscription.

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