Trevor Sorbie, the Scottish barber’s son who grew up to become a pioneering figure in British hairdressing, did not do things by halves.
By the time he opened his flagship salon in Covent Garden in 1979, he had long since created the iconic Wedge, a voluminous, layered bob that tapers at the nape of the neck, and in the years that followed he would style the locks of household names from Paul McCartney and the Beach Boys to Grace Jones, Kylie Minogue and Dame Helen Mirren.
It did not take long for Sorbie, who has died aged 75 after being diagnosed with bowel cancer, to become something of a star in his own right.
He was crowned British Hairdresser of the Year on four occasions, and as his renown grew – and his hairdressing empire expanded to Brighton, Bristol, Hampstead, Manchester and Richmond – he became a familiar face on British TV shows such as This Morning, GMTV and Mary Queen of Shops. In 2004 he was awarded an MBE, which he described as his ‘biggest accolade’.
Sorbie’s was the most colourful of lives, and it felt entirely appropriate when he revealed last month that, on learning of his diagnosis, his first move was to have ‘a big gin and tonic’.
Born in Paisley, Scotland, on 13 March 1949, Trevor Sorbie and his family moved to Essex when he was 11. Regularly bullied at school, he quickly dispensed with his Scottish accent and went on to drop out of education completely, trading his textbooks for an apprentice role in his father’s barber shop.
Trevor Sorbie is seen proudly displaying his MBE at Buckingham Palace in 2004. He described the honour as his ‘biggest accolade’
Sorbie, who has died aged 75 after being diagnosed with bowel cancer, was a pioneering figure in British hairdressing and the go-to stylist of the rich and famous
Sorbie, a familiar face on British TV shows such as This Morning, The Wright Stuff and GMTV, revealed his diagnosis last month
Sorbie’s most famous creation is the Wedge, pictured here, which he said ‘captured the spirit of the time’ and helped him to understand ‘the power of invention’
His natural aptitude was immediately apparent, and by the age of 20 he had his own shop in north London. Within four years, he was the artistic director at Vidal Sassoon, and by 1974 he had created the Wedge, which reputedly became the first haircut to occupy a double-page spread in Vogue.
‘The Wedge captured the spirit of the time and was flaunted in nightclubs around the world,’ Sorbie later recalled. ‘I now understood the power of invention. If I could achieve this once, then surely I could do it again.’
As his subsequent career demonstrated, he could indeed, his trailblazing techniques transforming the hairdressing landscape. Sorbie set new trends with styles such as the Wolfman, a punkish, razor-cut look, and the aptly-named Wave, while his experimental, highly-textured Scrunch created a new, faster method of drying hair.
Yet for all the invention, acclaim and high-profile clientele he attracted, it was the work Sorbie did away from the salon floor that ultimately afforded him the greatest satisfaction.
Sorbie recently recalled the transformative experience of being asked to cut the wig of a cancer patient at Princess Alice Hospice in Esher, Surrey, where he began doing volunteer work in 2006.
‘It really unnerved me,’ he told the Times. ‘I’d never seen anyone close to death, but there was Tina, sitting in her wedding dress, with tubes coming out of her.
‘I said, “Tina, it’s your lucky day – Trev’s in the building!” For the next 25 minutes we laughed and joked. I wasn’t in a room with a dying woman, I was in a room with a woman who was getting married.
‘She died the next day, but as I shut the door, I remember thinking for the first time in my life, “I’m not just a hairdresser. I feel special.”’
Sorbie is seen in his salon on Floral Street, Covent Garden, in November 2009. He first opened the flagship salon in 1979
Sorbie and his partner Wendy Elsmore meet the Princess Royal at a fundraiser in aid of Save The Children at the Natural History Museum in London in 2009
Scottish television presenter Lorraine Kelly was among Sorbie’s long list of clients. The pair are seen here at an awards ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall in London
Sorbie is pictured with Vidal Sassoon at the UK premiere of Vidal Sassoon: The Movie in 2011. Sorbie rose to become artistic director at Vidal Sassoon in the early 70s
In 2009, Sorbie began to focus his efforts on My New Hair, a charity he founded to give advice to patients and NHS staff on wig styling, hair loss and regrowth after treatment following the death from bone cancer of his sister-in-law Jackie Anders.
‘It was my personal experience of helping a family member during cancer treatment that inspired the idea of My New Hair,’ explained Sorbie, who cut the wig Jackie was given after she lost her hair during chemotherapy treatment.
In 2018, Sorbie launched a free wig customisation service for NHS patients affected by medical hair loss, including those undergoing chemotherapy.
A year later, he revealed to BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs he was seeking to retire, but would continue to cut wigs for people who had lost their hair. He also told the Sunday radio show that he had suffered depression and anxiety for much of his life.
In June 2024, Sorbie was told that he had ‘maybe six months’ to live, the cancer having spread to his liver.
He died peacefully, with his family and beloved dog by his side, on 8 November.
