Remembering John Sahag 20 Years – 2025
Photos Helen Oppenheim. Collage helenoppenheim.com
It is 20 years since the legendary John Sahag left us to do the hair of the angels (January 2, 1952 – June 15, 2005). The Lebanese-born Australian-raised Armenian became famous in Paris as the first internationally-recognized freelance hairdresser. He worked his magic on the heads of the supermodels and superstars of his era and made The Dry Cut famous in his John Sahag Workshops on Madison Avenue in NYC from 1985, active until recently.
This collage shows just some of his magic which made him so famous. It was the last time I saw him, at the IBS Fuse Show in New York, 2003, when I photographed his futuristic butterflies backstage.
Hair was braided, wrapped, twisted, knotted, in butterfly shapes. Meticulously engineered couture hairpieces (which took 4 hairdressers and 4 assistants 4 weeks to create) were cut-up, colored, entwined, tied with elastics and attached to heads, with seams showing, some sprayed with more color, a crazy abstract playful hair mix. Sahag was inspired by the butterfly theme of Gaelyn & Cianfarano’s stunning summer fashions, some in latex, and leather-look recycled bicycle rubber inner tubes.
To see more magical photos by Sahag, to read about him, how-to’s, all with plenty of inspiration, go to Hair Then/John Sahag on this website, helenoppenheim.com
Hair: John Sahag, The John Sahag Workshop, NYC, 2003 … Makeup: Jun Funahashi/L’Atelier … Butterfly Tattoos: Stephanie Tomaz … Fashions Gaelyn & Cianfarani … Fashion Styling: Lisa Von Weise … Photos: Helen Oppenheim
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Remembering John Sahag Today – 1996
Photo: Helen Oppenheim
Today, June 15, is 13 years since the legendary John Sahag left us too soon to do the hair of the angels. Here is a behind-the-scenes photo of the Multi—Cut on Sahag muse, Rachel Bick, which was part of a three-part saga (Rachel’s Saga) on hair repair after swimming pool damage with chlorine. To see and read (a must) the second of three Mulit-Cut albums, CLICK HERE
Hair: John Sahag, John Sahag Workshop 1996 … Hair Color: Jennifer Chune … Makeiup: Susan Houser … Model: Rachel Bick … Photo: Helen Oppenheim
CommentRare Girl With a Bug Sahag Photo – 1996
Photo: Eva Mueller
Girl with a bug! Rare unpublished photo of the legendary John Sahag’s Multi-Cut, one of many versions, a fun photo with a bug! “The Multi-Cut is very unruly, throw-away, incredibly interesting with new textures, which will be popular to the next century,” predicted John Sahag, in 1996. How right he was. To see more versions of this, part of Rachel’s Saga Part 2, CLICK HERE
Hair: John Sahag, John Sahag Workshop, 1996 … Color: Jennifer Chune … Makeup: Susan Houser … Fashion Styling: Lisa Von Weisse … Fashions: Elisa Jimenez … Model: Rachel Bick
Photo: Eva Mueller … Produced by Helen Oppenheim
Sahag Hair Ready for Fashion Shows – 1996+97
Photos Top Row: © Helen Oppenheim. Bottom Row: © David Webber
Hair history is here. Check out the hair ready for Fashion Shows by John Sahag, his dedicated Workshop Teams, and all the hair staff, who worked day and night (often way past midnight) weekends and their days off to make it all happen. “Haute coiffure” hand-sewn 100% human hair pieces by the hundreds, Sahag-style. The hairpieces were spread out all over the place – on trestle tables, radiators, and the floor of the Workshop for days, even when the salon was busy with clients. This is why Sahag called his salon a Workshop.
Top Row: Hairpieces in color way before their time for high fashion shows. These were some of hundreds made for the Gen Art “Fresh Faces” Fall 1997 New York Fashion Week Show. To see models wearing the pieces from this “tour de force” show, click HERE
Bottom Row: Some of the 157 human hair pieces in 30-40 different textures created for 33 models at the Issey Miyake Spring 1996 Paris Fashion Week Show. To see the models wearing the “modern, young, playful, abstract hairstyles” click HERE
Photos Top Row: © Helen Oppenheim. Bottom Row: © David Webber
CommentBody Painting by Linda Mason – 1996
Photo: David Webber
Beautiful body painting and makeup by Linda Mason, makeup artist extraordinaire, about 1996. This was way before makeup artists were painting bodies. The mid-parted hair, going this way and that, was by Cynthia Varon for the John Sahag Workshop, who is now back at the Workshop after many moons. Flemenco feel from one of my articles in Spain’s Peluquerias Magazine . For more Linda Mason masterpieces, click HERE and check out her website now, The Art of Beauty, Linda Mason Elements, lindamason.com
Hair: Cynthia Varon for John Sahag Workshop, 1996 … Photo: David Webber
CommentTiara On Toilet Seat – 1996
Photo: © Helen Oppenheim
Tiaras are everywhere. On the heads of models in the Spring 2016 Yves Saint Laurent ad campaign, Bergdorf Goodman has displays of many in their 5th floor jewelry department, fashionistas have been wearing them for some time. Which brings to mind a John Sahag Wild Night Creative Evening one Wednesday in, I think, 1996. Here is the lovely Devorah, a colorist at the Workshop wearing a Tiara, and I photographed her sitting on a toilet seat. (I have the full length somewhere, but can’t find it, for now.) Her hair, very new-looking then, was by Mayumi Honda. And we thought we were so cool. We were. And now too. For more on the John Sahag Wild Nights, click HERE
Hair: Mayumi Honda, John Sahag Workshop, 1996 … Model: Devorah … Photo: Helen Oppenheim
CommentChic Vampire- 1995
Photo: © David Webber. Collage by helenoppenheim.com
Chic vampire hair idea presented at a John Sahag Creative Evening in 1995, by Art Director Mark Schwartz who designed the beautifully crafted Styx himself for this Morticia vampire horror look with beauty on Brigitte Callister. For more on the inspirational and very special Creative Evening, which finished at 3.30 am, click HERE
Hair: Mark Schwartz, John Sahag Workhop … Makeup: Linda Mason … Model: Brigitte Callister … Photo: © David Webber (Collage by helenoppenheim.com)
CommentSahag Tribute Canadian Hairdresser – 2015
Canadian Hairdresser International – July 2015
Thank you Joan Harrison for the lovely 2 page Tribute for John Sahag in the July 2015 issue of Canadian Hairdresser International. I know you remember John fondly and it is great to see some of his most famous looks in your very interesting magazine. To READ the Tribute, and to see full credits click HERE For the great cover and the whole magazine online click HERE
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