The Civic in Barnsley is to debut a unique worldwide exhibition charting the history of hairdressing, next spring. This first of a kind exhibition explores the cultural significance of hair fashion through the rise of the celebrity hairdresser, their hair styling techniques and the hair salon over the past 50 years. Through this unique collaboration the exhibition will integrate the key innovations in the hair industry, salon environments, technological breakthroughs and the influence of fashion trends and popular culture.

Beehives Bobs And Blow-Dries

The South Yorkshire venue is set to become the first venue to host the exclusive new exhibition, Beehives Bobs and Blow-dries. This sensory exhibition will celebrate the contemporary history and future of hairdressing. From the fantasy collections for the catwalks and editorial to the subcultural styles on the street, the exhibition celebrates the impact of the relationship between celebrity hairdressers and media stars who through the decades have helped make iconic styles so popular.

Andrew Barton

Created by renowned celebrity stylist and former British Hairdresser of the Year Andrew Barton, in partnership with Donna Bevan, co-curator and fashion research consultant and David Sinclair, the curator of the Civic (currently curating visual arts for Hull City of Culture 2017), this exhibition is set to be iconic.

Creative Director, Andrew said, “To celebrate the exhibition in February 2018 we have created a collection of images with iconic photographer Ram Shergill. Ram and I have wanted to work together for some time and I knew that he would bring the glamour for which his work is associated with to this capsule collection of images. My work with photographers is a collaborative process and starts with a synergy of beauty ethos. My work is synonymous with “beauty”. I’m more attracted to grace and femininity than quirkiness or edge. It’s important that as hairdressers that we all understand our own design ethos and this is important in selecting the other creatives that I work with.”

First Of Its Kind

Often overlooked, fashion would not be complete without the right hair and this exhibition is here to celebrate just that. Beehives, Bobs & Blow-dries, is the first exhibition of its kind and will explore the contemporary history of hair from 1950 onwards including hairstyles through the decades, rituals of the modern hair salon and the cultural significance of the client hairdresser relationship in the community as well as the impact of technological advancements in hair products that have influenced the salon experience and the creation of new developments in hair styles in hairdressing.

Wigs, film, photography, historical imagery, products and styling tools will all feature in this eclectic exhibition. Not content with nostalgia, the exhibition charts the advancements in design, evolution and creativity and also looks forward to the future of hair and salon design.

The Perfect Collaboration

“This has been a great experience bringing together many of my areas of research interests in hair and hairdressing. We have had the perfect collaboration of expertise between us – which has allowed us to evolve this unique look at the highly significant world of British hair and hairdressing. The UK has trained so many of the key movers and shakers in this industry they have been setting, tweaking, cutting and blowing the trends from catwalk to street (and back again) over the past 50 years and beyond. This exhibition allows us to celebrate some of the major impacts this significant industry has on our hair fashions during this time’, explains Donna Bevan.

A Celebration Of Hair

Beehives, Bobs & Blow-dries will celebrate the meaning of hair as a form of self-expression illustrated through local research and loans from national archives. The exhibition also charts the cultural and economic shifts which influence those keys styles, using photography, modern and historical objects and a series of wigs supplied by Banbury Postiche and exclusively styled by Andrew Barton. A celebratory fundraising dinner will also accompany the opening of the exhibition, raising money for The Princes Trust charity, of which Andrew is one of their Celebrity Ambassadors, alongside various local initiatives. The Civic is proud to have sponsorship from key industry supporters including Banbury Postiche and Andrew Barton Haircare.

The exhibition will open on 17 February 2018 and will run until 7 April 2018 before moving to London, then potentially touring worldwide. Visit Barnsley Civic here to find out more.