About Trevor Sorbie
No one is more passionate about hairdressing excellence than Trevor. Whether it’s judging his stylists’ qualifying tests, inspiring his team to be the best hairdressers they can, developing his products or customizing a wig for a client with medical hair loss for My New Hair.
Ahead of his time, during his career Trevor has changed the face of the international hairdressing scene. His incredible artistry has been responsible for raising the bar in the hairdressing world, and has been instrumental in elevating hairdressing to an art form. His pioneering techniques and cuts – the Wedge, the Chop and the Scrunch are now part of an everyday salon life.
No other hairdresser has been so finely tuned to the needs of other hairdressers and their clients to always be one step ahead, to break down barriers and be at the cutting edge. His hairdressing is visionary, his shows always spellbinding, and his ability to win every top award coveted by his peers.
Driven by artistic energy, he has always thought laterally, taking the obvious and by adding a simple twist has created a new concept which leaves an indelible mark on the world of hair.
Among his numerous awards, Trevor Sorbie has won the coveted British Hairdresser of the Year title an unrivalled four times. Having worked with Vidal Sassoon himself, he in turn has trained some of hairdressing’s most skilled stylists, including Vivienne McKinder , Antoinette Beenders, session stylist Eugene Souleiman and fellow British Hairdresser of the Year winner Angelo Seminara.
Trevor's professional standards are second to none. His four salons located in Brighton, Manchester and London's Covent Garden and Hampstead, attract the very best hairdressers in the world and his team all share his vision and passion for hairdressing. They have developed a reputation for being industry leaders, all undergoing a rigorous entrance and training programme, overseen by Trevor himself (to this day every stylist who works in his salons has to pass a gruelling entrance test judged by Trevor himself before they can work on the salon floor). Indeed it is for this reason that Trevor only has four salons, as he always believes in being personally involved in the recruitment and development of the team and regularly visiting each one to ensure his high standards of hairdressing are met.
Trevor was born in 1949 in Paisley, Scotland to a family of barbers. After dropping out of school at 15 with no qualifications Trevor began working with his father before taking a six-month course at the Richard Henry School of Hairdressing. In 1972, shortly after graduating, he got a job at Vidal Sassoon in London where he pioneered the new geometric look sported by style icons such as Mary Quant and Mia Farrow. Vidal Sassoon quickly made Trevor his Artistic Director, styling the likes of Rex Harrison and Paul McCartney.
Trevor cites Vidal as his hero, saying, "his ideas were revolutionary and he spoke about hair with such passion and excitement, I was totally inspired." While Vidal acknowledges Trevor's career as “brilliant” thanks to his combination of "original thinking with superb technical ability.” Recognition of Trevor’s achievements span the hairdressing world with Toni & Guy supremo Anthony Mascolo referring to Trevor as "one of the best hairdressers ever...both directionally and creatively."
Despite his achievements, Trevor has always remained candid and down-to-earth. Trevor firmly believes in what he describes as "real hair, for real people" and it’s all about attitude not age. His thinking behind this philosophy is that although his artistic work is an all-consuming passion, he also wants to create wonderfully wearable styles for his clients that make them feel and look great.
This has never been truer than with the charity "My New Hair". Inspired by his own experience of helping a family member during cancer treatment, Trevor launched the charity in June 2006 and now dedicates much of his time offering advice and wig customizations to clients suffering medical hair loss. He also organises seminars to train other hairdressers to also offer this unique service. To date Trevor has trained over 400 hairdressers across the UK and works closely with many NHS hospitals and hospices.
In October 2009, Trevor was invited to the UK Prime Minister’s residence, Number 10 Downing Street to celebrate his work with My New Hair, which was a great honour. However his greatest privilege to date was in 2004 when Trevor was the first hairdresser to be awarded an M.B.E from HRH the Queen of England to reward his dedication and services to hairdressing.
