In the early part of the 20th Century Coco Chanel
revolutionized women’s fashion. Her iconic design
concepts of the “petit robe noir”, and classically
structured wool jersey suit , remain to this day,
staples in the world of fashion. Times were changing
and Chanel had the sensibility of a visionary to
recognize that clothing and lifestyles were in tandem
to the needs of this changing society. Along with
the changes in clothing came changes in the way women
were cutting and styling their hair. As society began
to offer women more freedoms, fashion and hairstyles
were offering them more options. Since this time,
trendy haircuts have come and gone, but Chanel’s
“petit robe noir” has remained steadfast. What has
given her creations a timeless quality ? The fact is
that Chanel followed the philosophy made famous by
Frank Lloyd Wright…classical, timeless creations
follow the simple rule of “form follows function”.
Behind all great design there is a blueprint dictated
by this philosophy. If one is to expect greatness
from a creation or design, then it should be expected
that the form must follow the function. The woman and
her lifestyle must be taken into high consideration
when creating a home or clothing for her. So why
shouldn’t haircutting follow this same rule ?
Until now, no one has had the visionary sense to
recognize the need to fashion a design blueprint for
the art of hair cutting. That is until Mr. Patrick
Garelle had the visionary sense in realizing the need
for such a design blueprint.
