Photo courtesy of
Sheila Metzner
Photo courtesy of
Irving Penn; Researched by Lori Bermami
Photo courtesy of
Eric Deniset
Photo courtesy of
Michael Bonacci
Photo courtesy of
Bruno Juminer
Photo courtesy of
Hans Feurer; Researched by Lori Bermani
Photo courtesy of
Bob Jefferds
Photo courtesy of
Helen Oppenheim
Photo courtesy of
Sheila Metzner
Photo courtesy of
Irving Penn; Researched by Lori Bermami
Photo courtesy of
Eric Deniset
Photo courtesy of
Michael Bonacci
Photo courtesy of
Bruno Juminer
Photo courtesy of
Hans Feurer; Researched by Lori Bermani
Photo courtesy of
Bob Jefferds
Photo courtesy of
Helen Oppenheim
June 15, 2015 is 10 years since the legendary John Sahag passed away. This blog is a tribute to him and the amazing shapes he loved to make.
His extraordinary work made him a world-famous icon with a client list beyond imagination, including movie stars, supermodels, royalty and music icons, plus covers and pages upon pages in the world's most influential and international magazines, like Vogue Italia, French Vogue and, of course, American Vogue. Movies included the 1978 cult thriller "The Eyes of Laura Mars," in which he appeared as a hairdresser with Faye Dunaway. He also gave actress Demi Moore her gamine cut in the 1990 movie "Ghost," a sensation at the time.
Sahag Jamgotchian (later known as John Sahag) was born in Beirut, Lebanon, on January 2, 1952. His father was a couturier and he had a fashion influence in his life from an early age. He started working in a salon at age 7. When he was 9 years old, his family migrated to Australia. He arrived in Paris at age 18, starved for 6 months and, helped by Bernard Mériatt, then of L'Oréal and Maniatis, a top French salon owner for whom he freelanced with a 6-year contract, he got an Italian Vogue cover at 19. (In 1978 he became the first "name" freelance designer, a new phenomenon.)
The 6' 2", 175 lb charismatic, charming and very sexy hairdresser crisscrossed the Atlantic with his flying scissors so many times for 3 ½ years that in 1981 he settled in New York.
Brooke Shields, who cut the ribbon for his first salon in 1985, was quoted in the Workshop opening press release saying, "John is totally creative, in every situation. Plus he looks sensational in black." And, as Kathy Dwyer, his friend and Executrix, President of Sahag Workshop, Products and Education, says, "Although he looked like a rock star, he was anything but in how he lived his life. He believed that we were put on this earth to love one another and live as impeccable human beings." He treated all his clients like roses, and he worked almost 24/7. He loved hair, it wasn't work to him!
I did the PR for the first John Sahag Workshop in 1985 for this spiritual and very unusual man who concocted sentences like no other to describe his dry hair cuts. "I want to see my pieces on real life ladies walking around town, not just in magazines. Pieces? Yes, pieces," wrote Anthony Haden-Guest in New York Magazine at the time. I left him after about 9 months, he spent 8 years trying to get me back and I returned as his "Ambassadress" for 3 more years, from 1994-97. For more About John Sahag the man, click HERE.
You can see some of his famous dry hair cuts with his three-dimensional approach to hair and some of his editorial and celeb hair "where he scored" in these photos. And there's far more inspirational photos by clicking HairThen on www.helenoppenheim.com - and reading the wonderful words under most photos.
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