Retrospective reinvention at the trevor sorbie salon seminar 2019

Bringing fresh aesthetics to some of Mr Sorbie’s earlier fabulously successful looks kindled inspiration for Trevor Sorbie’s Artistic Team... It’s an astonishing 40 years since Trevor Sorbie catapulted into the spotlight by creating The Wedge – his ground-breaking, breath-taking, head turning new haircut. The Wedge remains one of hairdressing’s most iconic images of the 1970s. So, when looking to create a new collection, Trevor Sorbie Artistic Team members’ thoughts turned to success of the past, leading to a focus on, and a working with, looks from past decades; images synonymous with Trevor’s genius – but presented with a brand-new vibe. The ON/OFF Collection sees magically memorable Sorbie looks of yesteryear reborn, echoing shapes, textures and colours of the past but with a fresh aesthetic. The thinking underpinning this directive was explained by seminar compare Nathan Walker – Sorbie’s international colour director – now in his 25^th year with the company.

“The aesthetic of what we look for in shape and colour changes over time. What looked right in the 70s, 80s or 90s doesn’t look right in today’s world.”

“We looked to the past objectively in order to move forward,” said Nathan. “The aesthetic of what we look for in shape and colour changes over time. What looked right in the 70s, 80s or 90s doesn’t look right in today’s world,” said Nathan. “For example, the bold stripes of colour made so fashionable by Geri Halliwell looked great at the time, in that era, but they just don’t look right for now.” To cite examples of the On/OFF collection, cut and style-wise there were modern takes on The Scrunch, Shadow Play and Wolf Man. From a colour perspective, Animal – a mottled, tactile animal print progressed from an early colour effect called The Bee – exaggerated stripes in the hair; Wolf Man’s earlier dark roots contrasting with light ends were shown in a much more subtle way. And the show stopper? Today’s Wedge. Colour reversed to show dark on top, light underneath (originally light on top, darker underneath) and with much less graduation. The perfect homage to a perfect look.