Sam McKnight

Sam McKnight is one of the biggest names in the hair industry today, working repeatedly for labels such as Vivienne Westwood, Chanel and Fendi. Sam says that hairdressing was something he just 'fell into by accident'. He began training as a teacher in Scotland, and helping his friend out on the weekend at their salon. From then on he knew he wanted to go into hairdressing.  McKnight moved to London and trained as a hairdresser, and started working at a salon called Molton Brown, who now have a chain of successful retail stores that sell their soaps and shampoos. He often filled in for his co-worker on shoots for Vogue, which had offices around the corner. From then started working on magazines and editorials.

Sam often works with world renowned photographers such as Nick Knight, Patrick Demarchelier, Karl Largerfeld, Mario Testino, Tim Walker and even the famous Horst. After shooting with Patrick Demarchelier, he was introduced to Princess Diana, and then went on to create an iconic image of her in 1990.

Princess Diana (1990) shot by Patrick Demarchelier

One thing that I really like about Sam, is how humble is, even though he is one of the biggest hair stylists in the industry,  In an interview with getthegloss.com (Taylor, 2012), Sam mentions that occassionally he still gets star struck, and that  "A bit of it is talent, but the rest is hard graft. There is no shortcut.  Some people think they can get straight to the top, but unless they’re prepared to work hard they won’t stay there. What this job is not about for me is going in and throwing my weight or my ego around. I want to do a good job and people to feel comfortable around me. I don’t do screaming and shouting." 
I think that it's important that he recognises this, and it's one of the reasons his work is still so popular and current today. It definitely teaches and reminds me, that you should always keep yourself grounded in a job like this.

Some of my favourite looks by Sam were from Vogue, and this was where I first came across his work.

Daria Werbowy Vogue UK March 2014

Malgosia Bela Vogue UK December 2012
'Like dreamers do.'

Overall I think his creative and versatile style is what I really like about his work, and his attitude towards his profession just adds to why he is one of my favourite hair stylists.


1.content: Sam McKnight, w. (2014). Sam McKnight. [online] Sammcknight.com. Available at: http://www.sammcknight.com/portfolio/ [Accessed 19 Nov. 2014].
2.Furry Mohawk Fendi. (n.d.). [image] Available at: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=sam+mcknight&biw=1366&bih=643&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=SRSFVKH3BsvmUrjWgOgP&sqi=2&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ#tbm=isch&q=sam+mcknight+fendi&facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=-DBWbFudrcRZBM%253A%3BOoxJgaIbknlCbM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fcdnpix.com%252Fshow%252Fimgs%252F3466113f84322eb6eab886ad689239dd.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Ffollowpics.co%252Ffurry-faux-hawks-from-the-fendi-fall-2013-show-in-milan-by-sam-mcknight-fall-2013-hair-trend-report-braids-revisited%252F%3B375%3B563 [Accessed 19 Nov. 2014].
3.models.com MDX, (2013). Sam McKnight. [online] Available at: http://models.com/mdx/sam-mcknight/ [Accessed 19 Nov. 2014].
4.Shulman, A. (2014). Rainbow babes. Vogue UK, p.302.
5.Taylor, S. (2012). Behind the brand: Sam McKnight. [online] Getthegloss.com. Available at: http://www.getthegloss.com/article/behind-the-brand-sam-mcknight [Accessed 19 Nov. 2014].
6.Taylor, S. (2012). Princess Diana. [image] Available at: http://www.getthegloss.com/media/image/get-the-gloss-sam-mcknight-princess-dianna-shoot.jpeg [Accessed 19 Nov. 2014].
7.Vogue, (2012). Dsquared show. [image] Available at: http://cdni.condenast.co.uk/426x639/Shows/AW2012/Milan/R-T-W/DSquared/00120big_426x639.jpg [Accessed 19 Nov. 2014].