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Day 5: Hair by Sam McKnight

published on 5 November 2016

This month's Tumblr takeover celebrates the opening of the new exhibition, Hair by Sam McKnight at Somerset House. For day five, curator Shonagh Marshall gives us a sneak peek of the exhibition.

This month's Tumblr takeover celebrates the opening of the new exhibition, Hair by Sam McKnight at Somerset House. For day five, curator Shonagh Marshall gives us a sneak peek of the exhibition.

A little known fact is that Sam McKnight introduced Nick Knight to Lady Gaga. After meeting Gaga on a shoot for British Vogue he thought they would get along and after his introduction the three have gone one to collaborate on numerous projects. Here we exhibit Lady Gaga’s wig from the Born This Way album artwork shot by Nick Knight. The images that appeared in the campaign are black and white, so I always thought it was really interesting to expose that the wig was in fact a dirty pink colour with black roots. The flowers in Sam’s garden often inspire the colours of the wigs he uses. - Shonagh Marshall, Curator
Throughout the exhibition we display wigs, sometimes on a dismembered head as an object and at other points with the full ensemble in which it appeared on the catwalk. When watching Sam, Eamonn Hughes and the rest of the team make the wigs, I was captivated. Their process is just as a sculptor would work to create a form. This wig, which they made for Chanel’s Métiers d’Arts Paris- Édimbourg Prefall 2013 show, which features plaited auburn hair, was a feat in engineering and consists of numerous wigs plaited together. - Shonagh Marshall, Curator
Sam’s work with Princess Diana, he was her personal hairstylist for seven years from 1990 to 1997, takes his role as an image-maker into a completely different sphere. The images of Princess Diana on display have a place within history that far transcends the position of the fashion image. McKnight is credited with modernising her look by cutting her hair shorter in 1990 and then slicking it back in 1995, which resulted in front page newspaper coverage on many national newspapers the following day. The notes and ephemera given to McKnight by the Princess are sweet, funny and touching, so we were absolutely honoured that Sam allowed us to exhibit these personal artefacts. - Shonagh Marshall, Curator
In 1968 Andy Warhol stated ‘In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.’ This statement has never been more prevalent than today, especially when applied to the fashion industry where the most sought after models are those that have the largest following on social media channels. Towards the end of the exhibition we wanted to raise this point and see what questions we could evoke the visitor to leave with. For me, as a curator, in this climate where the fashion exhibition is ever more popular, I like the way that Hair by Sam McKnight itself plays a part in the democratisation of fashion. After all, it opens a door to yet another facet of the fashion industry that hadn’t been explored before, the role of a session stylist. - Shonagh Marshall, Curator
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Image Gallery

Day 4: Hair by Sam McKnight

04 November 2016
Celebrating the opening of the new exhibition, Hair by Sam McKnight, curator Shonagh Marshall gives us a sneak peek of the exhibition exclusively on the SHOWstudio Tumblr.
Interview

Interview: Shonagh Marshall

14 July 2016
Lou Stoppard interviews Shonagh Marshall, the curator of hair stylist Sam McKnight's 2016 exhibition at Somerset House.
Image Gallery

Day 6: Hair by Sam McKnight

06 November 2016
Celebrating the opening of the new exhibition, Hair by Sam McKnight, creative director Eamonn Hughes gives us a sneak peek of the exhibition in its final stages.
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