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The Death of the Iconic Hairstyle?

Fifteen years ago, it was "The Rachel." Twenty years before that, it was "The Farrah." And those are only two examples of iconic hairstyles that have graced thousands of heads over the last hundred years. But can there be another? With today's trend toward individualism, colorist and Matrix Artistic Color Director, Patrick McIvor, and stylist and L'Oreal Professionnel Portfolio Artist, Amit Abraham, say it isn't likely. So what do your clients want right now? And where can you look for inspiration?

by Melissa Hill
July 11, 2011
The Death of the Iconic Hairstyle?

 

2 min to read


Jennifer Aniston's hairstyle on Friends created "The Rachel"
hair craze.

Fifteen years ago, it was "The Rachel." Twenty years before that, it was "The Farrah." And those are only two examples of iconic hairstyles that have graced thousands of heads over the last hundred years. But can there be another? With today's trend toward individualism, colorist and Matrix Artistic Color Director, Patrick McIvor, and stylist and L'Oreal Professionnel Portfolio Artist, Amit Abraham, say it isn't likely.

Patrick on No More "Rachels"
"In the past, you could always go, ‘that's the trend.' Or you go, ‘no, it's the wrong color.' Now today, the trends are always customizable. You'll never see them in their purity. Kids don't want their MySpace pages to look the same, they don't want their cars to look the same, they don't want their phones to look the same. So why do we think they're all going to walk in with a picture of Rachel's haircut? It's never going to happen again, because culturally they never participated in it. We did. So that's the thing that's really cool about right now."

Amit on Where to Go for Inspiration
"If you look at Teen Vogue, that's a great place for inspiration, for what's coming. Not what's in right now, but what's influencing the younger generation and what's to come. It gives a little flavor to what you're doing right now, keeps your styling a little edgy."

Patrick on What Your Clients Want
"Sometimes we try to nail it down to one thing, and the reality is, that doesn't inspire the people we need to inspire. Those people are looking for things that are easily adaptable, like here's the general direction, and they say, ‘ok, cool, I wasn't able to figure that out all by myself, but now I see where I fit into that in my own way.' That's the great part."

Amit on Individualism
"Individualism is so in right now, especially in fashion and clothing. Look at bags-from Marc Jacobs to Louis Vuitton to Coach. It's such a wide spectrum. Ask anybody, ‘what is the in fashion right now?' If they can actually give you an answer, I can tell you I don't think they know what they are talking about. There is nothing that will dictate what's in fashion anymore. Consumerism plus capitalism plus everything that's evolved from that, really opens the door for individualism. Whatever you can afford, whatever your style is, whatever you feel that's what goes. There's no one to tell you wrong. Not one is good or bad, they're just different."



Topics:In The KnowIndustry News

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