The celebrity hairstylist became a household name thanks to a styling session—and name-drop—in friend Roman Polanski’s “Rosemary’s Baby.”
Vidal Sassoon came up with one of the most memorable ad slogans ever: “If you don’t look good, we don’t look good.”
It was a catchphrase that went on to define his brand and made Vidal a household name.
Sassoon’s liberating approach to beauty didn’t just impact famous clients like Mia Farrow. Born in London in 1928 and raised in poverty, he rose to prominence in the 1960s with his innovative concept: short, geometric cuts that mirrored the architecture of the era and freed women from endless salon trips.
His shop on London’s Bond Street became a destination, landing him celebrity clients like Rita Hayworth and Ava Gardner.
In 1967, Sassoon earned major attention when Polanski hired him to work on Farrow’s pixie cut on the Paramount lot during production of the horror classic Rosemary’s Baby. (Farrow later revealed she had already shorn her locks herself, with Sassoon trimming for the photo op.)
Sassoon’s name was even dropped in the film itself: “It’s Vidal Sassoon—it’s very in,” Farrow’s character defends. That mention brought his brand to Middle America and directly led to his U.S. product line launch.
Beyond Farrow, Sassoon cut Goldie Hawn’s and Jane Fonda’s hair, and popularized the five-point cut worn by Grace Coddington. He faced criticism for short styles—Barbara Walters once said he was “making beautiful women look like boys”—but Sassoon stayed focused on innovation.
His enduring legacy includes salons, beauty schools, and a product empire. As he told THR in 2011: “I was always thinking of what I was going to do next and would it be successful and would I make a mess of it.”
This story originally appeared in The Hollywood Reporter – Vidal Sassoon: The Man Behind Mia Farrow’s Famous Pixie Cut
