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A conversation with the hair legend behind Anna Wintour’s first Vogue cover, Princess Diana’s most iconic looks, and Karl Lagerfeld’s greatest wigs.
Written By JACK SUNNUCKS
Images courtesy of Sam McKnight
Among hair professionals, Sam McKnight needs no introduction. But if you need a primer, here it is. After moving from Scotland to London in the ‘70s to work at the Molton Brown salon, McKnight became an in-demand session stylist for British Vogue. He decamped to New York in 1982, and essentially hasn’t stopped working since, from creating the flowing locks on Anna Wintour’s revolutionary first Vogue cover, to the short style that announced Princess Diana as a fashion force to be reckoned with.
And McKnight, who returned to London ten years ago, shows no signs of slowing down. To wit: his seemingly endless ideas for Karl Lagerfeld on the Chanel and Fendi runways which have incoporated pastel colored wigs, flower veils, and incredibly adorned head bands. “It almost becomes unspoken,” he says of his collaboration with the designer. “He’ll send me a sketch. He likes things when they’re a gesture, and really quite graphic.”
And then there’s his editorial work, which bridges the talents of film and fashion with ease. Only McKnight could do Kristen Stewart’s slicked black, peroxide hair one day, and then huge, natural hair on model Lineisy Monteiro the next. And still retain a sense of humor. As he says about working on the shows: “We have enough people working with me, and if it’s not done, I’ll do it myself. I’ll do twenty looks, it’s fine!”
Truly, we couldn’t love Sam McKnight more. To celebrate the launch of his eponymous product line on VIOLET GREY, we sat down with the brilliant hair maestro to discuss his work, philosophy, styling tricks and whether a wig counts as a hat. Read on.
A conversation with Sam McKnight.
SAM MCKNIGHT'S WORK FROM VARIOUS CHANEL RUNWAY SHOWS
IMAGES COURTESY OF SAM MCKNIGHT
You moved to New York as a young man – did moving here change your career radically?
The night before the show, I pulled a FRINGE out of my bag, put it on sideways, and dyed it GREEN.
Well Karl’s amazing for allowing you to play with it; he gives you a story and allows you to develop it. Last season at Fendi we did petrol green-blue half fringes on the girls. We couldn’t figure out where it was going but then, the night before the show, I pulled a fringe out of my bag, put it on sideways, and dyed it green. And Karl really loved it, and with no doubts.
I think that, over the years, we have built a relationship where I kind of know what he’s going to like, and can figure out what he’s thinking without him explaining too much. It almost becomes unspoken. He likes things when they’re a gesture, and really quite graphic, quite strong. And sometimes we’ll go quite far, and do huge croissant buns in the back. And sometimes it’ll quite literally be fringe stuck on sideways! In the end, it’s all about his vision, not mine. It’s me facilitating his vision of a silhouette, really. The hair almost becomes the hat, if that makes sense. Sometimes it’s a colored wig plonked on top, or it could be a really major ‘do!