Hair by Sam McKnight

Based at Somerset House and running from 2 November 2016 to 12 March 2017, Hair by Sam McKnight is an exhibition that retraces the career of fashion’s most in demand hair stylist.

It has been more than forty years since Sam McKnight first moved to London in his early twenties lugging a devoted passion for everything hair. However it was in 1977, when his first of the art cover for British Vogue hit the newsstands, that his career imploded, marking the beginning of the long and highly productive relationship between McKnight and the magazine. Today his portfolio includes 190 covers and countless editorial shoots for British Vogue.

Hair by Sam McKnight takes the viewer into the backstage world of the fashion industry, giving a glimpse into the amazing collaborative role of the hairdresser in the creation of iconic fashion images.

The exhibition features a series of snapshots taken of McKnight’s close friends from the industry, many of them the world’s most famous models whom he met and befriended during a lifetime of fashion shoots. However it also showcases the many other facets of his career: his time as the official royal hair stylist for the Princess of Wales, his close work with designer Karl Lagerfeld and also his contribution to wider popular culture with clients including Madonna and Lady Gaga.