The Sassoon City Salon Barbershop, London
A Cut Less Ordinary
Nestled in the shadow of St. Paul’s cathedral in the City of London, sits another landmark with a dedication of a different kind. Part of the internationally renowned Sassoon group, the Sassoon City Salon on Ave Maria Lane, features an exclusive barbershop floor dedicated to men’s hairstyling.
When the legendary Vidal Sassoon founded his brand in the 1960s, he took a unique approach to hair styling that unified the creative mediums of fashion, art and architecture and applied them to his work with hair. He pioneered a unique architectural cutting technique that all Sassoon stylists are still trained with today; this signature method defined the sharp and modern aesthetic of a Sassoon cut and made his brand a household name.
Sassoon City Salon Barbershop Review
Whilst I’m generally rather blasé when it comes to large-scale establishments, I recently took the opportunity to sample the brand’s barbershop services to see what makes Sassoon a world leader in the field of hairstyling.
Upon arrival, my stylist, Michael Pilz, greets me on the men’s barbershop floor with a firm handshake and a warm smile, inviting me to sit down on a particularly smart retro barber’s chair:
Moved from salon to salon and re-upholstered, these vintage chairs are symbolic of the Sassoon brand, which has evolved and grown over the years, whilst still retaining its original ideals. “Our upholsterer tells us not to get rid of them each time we have them serviced – he says they just don’t make them like this anymore” explains Pilz.
As he gets to work examining my hair and we come to an agreement on the look to execute, Pilz’s knowledge and passion for the art of hairstyling is immediately apparent. Having moved from his native Germany to join the Sassoon group in London six years ago, Pilz embarked on the brand’s comprehensive training programme: “The in-depth training course lasts for six months, where we are taught Sassoon’s signature ‘ABC’ foundation techniques, which provide us with the skills needed to cut hair using the Sassoon method”.
