I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from an exhibition about hair, but I thought it might be fun to go and find out before it closed on 12 March, so I went along to Somerset House a couple of Thrusdays ago to see the Sam McKnight show.
It’s a major retrospective celebrating a 40-year career of one of fashion’s top image makers, and the first to showcase the role of the hairstylist on the catwalk and in creating iconic editoiral shoots. McKnight has worked on more Vogue covers than anyone else, styling supermodels and working with international fashion designers such as Chanel and Vivienne Westwood.
When we went it was very quiet, we were the only 2 people in the gallery and it felt like we had the place to ourselves. There are some amazing shots – Tilda Swinton, Kate Moss, Diana and all of the supermodels – and to be honest I got lost in the photographs, almost forgetting about the hair.
One thing that did amaze me though, were the shots of the models being styled backstage at the catwalk shows. It looks almost brutal – I don’t know how they put up with being pulled about by so many people!
It was a nice way to while away 45 minutes or so, and at £13 a ticket it wasn’t over-priced. And by the time we got to the bar at One Aldwych, we really felt like we deserved those cocktails!
