Life through a lens: keith harris' most iconic images

The career of Keith Harris has taken him from an apprenticeship with Vidal Sassoon to the red carpets of Hollywood. He has worked with many of the world’s leading photographers, celebrities and models. As part of our Life Through a Lens series we asked him to share eight of his favourite images. The Original Polished Undercut Keith Harris: “I came up with this idea, when I was still based within the Trevor Sorbie salon in Covent Garden. My fellow stylists felt the style was severe, masculine and ugly and said women wouldn’t wear their hair like this. To his credit, Trevor liked the haircut and suggested I get it photographed. When I look around and see just how many people are wearing a version of this look, I smile to myself and feel proud. I would never want to say – “I told you so, would I?” Stretched Blondes Keith Harris: “This image is part of a set from a black and white collection which won Avant Garde Stylist of The Year at The British Hairdressing Awards, sponsored by Schwarzkopf Professional. I went on to win a total of four national titles and was inducted into The British Hairdressing Awards Hall of Fame in 1997.” Soft and feminine KH: “This beautiful girl was being talked about as the next big thing by her agency in Milan. We were only given a morning to work with her and her bob haircut with a fringe was a little boring and uninspiring. I wanted to create some softness, movement and volume to compliment her wonderful bone structure and emphasise her pretty and delicate features. The entire feeling within this image was one of natural beauty and femininity. Both the model and agency were delighted with the results.” Fans KH: “When I created this hairstyle, I literally made it up as I went along. I wanted to see hair that looked like "feathered fans" and when it all came together, I was really pleased because I can promise you that 25 years ago (when we shot these images,) I had never seen hair with this look or texture, before!” Sisters of Mercy KH: “I thought it would be an interesting challenge both aesthetically and also on a technical level, to get two girls to share the same hair. This image was gemini in my Naked Hair calendar.” The Breeze Technique KH: "This is a blow-dry technique that I developed and presented at my hair seminars and workshops throughout the world, during the early and mid-nineties. It was a way to control a windswept effect for the camera and I called it the breeze technique. There is no wind on the hair and no trickery or special effects. The model walked around the studio, even stopped for her lunch and the hair stayed in place throughout.” Golden Beauty KH: “This beautiful image was shot by the man that helped create the look of modern hair pictures, the legend that is Mr Trevor Leighton. When creating this look, I wanted to highlight the beautiful colour of my model’s hair and show it off in all its glory. The styling of the shoot works perfectly.”