Trevor Sorbie, the hairstylist known for creating the wedge and chop hairstyles and for founding his namesake salon and product businesses, has died at age 75.
Sorbie’s death was revealed on his company’s Instagram page on Friday, which noted his recent terminal diagnosis of bowel cancer.
Sorbie started his career as an apprentice in a barbershop owned by his father when he was 14, and went on to open his first salon in London in 1979. Per the salons’ website, there are now seven locations.
He was also the man responsible for the hairstylings of Grace Jones, Siouxsie Sioux, Annie Lennox, Kylie Minogue and Dame Helen Mirren.
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Sorbie dabbled in fashion too. He was the hairstylist for the runways shows of Scottish fashion designer Bill Gibb and Zandra Rhodes.
In 2004, Sorbie was the first hairdresser to be selected by Queen Elizabeth II to be awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire honor, or MBE, for his services to beauty.
The hairdresser was known to be a shrewd businessman and not one to chase the sparkling lights.
Sorbie was asked to be the late monarch’s hairdresser, but he turned down the offer. “I refused – now I’m running a business with a 147-staffer and I just couldn’t let that go, it’s my business,” he told Canada’s Cityline in 2019.
Veteran makeup artist Mary Greenwell remembered Sorbie as a behemoth on the hair scene.
“He was one of the first hairdressers along with Vidal Sassoon and John Freida to be a force where women chose a star hairdresser to cut their hair,” she said over WhatsApp. “He was loved and admired by everyone and had a following of all the celebrities of England. He will go down as one of the original greats in salon hairdressing,” she added.
“I used to do Trevor’s PR in the early ‘90s. He really was very well established at this point, and he took a chance on me, I had no track record back them. I had just started my agency. He was unique in identifying young people and their talents early on in their career,” said Millie Kendall, chief executive officer of the British Beauty Council.
“I met Eugene Souleiman and Antoinette Beenders through their work with Trevor. He was the finder of great talent as well as being the founder of modern hairdressing in my opinion.”
In 2006, Sorbie’s sister-in-law’s cancer diagnosis led to him founding My New Hair, a charity that provided wig styling to cancer patients.
To focus on his My New Hair charity, Sorbie appointed Giuseppe Stelitano creative director two years ago — passing on the baton.
“Trevor’s passing has left a real gap in my heart. Working with him was more than a career experience; it was a journey of growth, discovery and inspiration. He had an extraordinary ability to see potential in people, sometimes even before they saw it in themselves,” Stelitano said.
He added Sorbie was always an honest boss and never shied away from expressing his opinion.
“If he thought something wasn’t good enough, he’d challenge you to push yourself further. In his own words: ‘Be bold, be different, but always do everything in good taste,’” Stelitano said.
Sorbie’s management style was always unconventional, just like his hairstyles. He was a character that was very big on family and teamwork.
“Trevor had a way of making us all feel like we were part of something bigger, a family united by shared passion and genuine support. He was never one to just sit in the office and act like ‘the boss.’ Instead, he’d be with the team, sitting in the staff room, listening to our everyday stories and sharing in our experiences,” Stelitano said.
It seems that anyone who met Sorbie quickly turned into a friend.
For hairdresser and hairstylist Johanna Cree Brown, she was introduced to the hairdressing giant through her mentor, Alan Stewart at the British Hairdressing Awards in November 1996, where she was nominated for Scottish Hairdresser of The Year.
“Trevor generously chatted to me about creativity and his hair journey to date that started a curiosity that led me to London and to Trevor’s Covent Garden salon the following year,” said Brown, who is creative director of special projects at Trevor Sorbie.
She recalls one of his one-man-show in Europe going all wrong, but Sorbie rose up to the occasion with grace.
“All of the team’s luggage arrived, but all of Trevor’s hair show kit, equipment, and everything he needed to put on the show got lost en route. Trevor had to borrow and find and make alternatives within 24 hours – there was no Amazon Prime back then. He pulled off the show with a standing ovation and I learnt something invaluable in those 24 hours – the show must and always come first,” said Brown.
Sorbie was also instrumental in the careers of other hairstylists such as Eugene Souleiman and Anthony Mascolo.
Souleiman called the late hairstylist the most influential person in his career in a WWD article from 2007. “He trained me and he gave me the techniques and he worked me into the ground. And I am grateful that he did because it put me in great stead for the future,” he added.
Per an Instagram post from the company, there will be no memorial services, with instead an invitation to donate to either My New Hair, Rowans Hospice, Cancer Research U.K. and Marie Curie.
