Antoni Cierplikowski (
Polish pronunciation: ; 1884 – 1976) was a Polish hairdresser who became the world's first
celebrity hairdresser
This is a list of notable hairdressers. "Hairdresser" is a term referring to anyone whose occupation is to cut or style hair in order to change or maintain a person's image. This is achieved using a combination of hair coloring, haircutting, and ...
when he opened the salon Antoine de Paris in Paris and became known as Monsieur Antoine. Among his clients were world-famous female personalities like
Coco Chanel
Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel ( , ; 19 August 1883 – 10 January 1971) was a French fashion designer and businesswoman. The founder and namesake of the Chanel brand, she was credited in the post-World War I era with popularizing a sporty, c ...
, Queen
Marie of Romania
Marie (born Princess Marie Alexandra Victoria of Edinburgh; 29 October 1875 – 18 July 1938) was the last Queen of Romania as the wife of King Ferdinand I.
Marie was born into the British royal family. Her parents were Prince Alfred, D ...
,
Sarah Bernhardt
Sarah Bernhardt (; born Henriette-Rosine Bernard; 22 or 23 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including '' La Dame Aux Camel ...
,
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress. Regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses, she was known for her melancholic, somber persona, her film portrayals of tragedy, ...
, U.S. First Lady
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...
, and
Brigitte Bardot
Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot ( ; ; born 28 September 1934), often referred to by her initials B.B., is a former French actress, singer and model. Famous for portraying sexually emancipated characters with hedonistic lifestyles, she was one of the ...
.
Early life
Cierplikowski was born in
Sieradz
Sieradz ( la, Siradia, yi, שעראַדז, שערעדז, שעריץ, german: 1941-45 Schieratz) is a city on the Warta river in central Poland with 40,891 inhabitants (2021). It is the seat of the Sieradz County, situated in the Łódź Voivodes ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
, and learnt
hairdressing
A hairdresser is a person whose occupation is to cut or style hair in order to change or maintain a person's image. This is achieved using a combination of hair coloring, haircutting, and hair texturing techniques. A Hairdresser may also be refe ...
by working for his uncle in
Łódź
Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...
. In December 1901, he moved to
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, France. He married Berthe Astier on 24 January 1909 in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, England, where they were both learning English.
Career
After moving to Paris, Cierplikowski worked in the
salon
Salon may refer to:
Common meanings
* Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments
* French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home
* Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment
Arts and entertainment
* Salon (P ...
at
Galeries Lafayette
The Galeries Lafayette () is an upmarket French department store chain, the biggest in Europe. Its flagship store is on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris but it now operates in a number of other locations in France and othe ...
. During the summer season, he worked in
Deauville
Deauville () is a commune in the Calvados department, Normandy, northwestern France. Major attractions include its harbour, race course, marinas, conference centre, villas, Grand Casino, and sumptuous hotels. The first Deauville Asian Film Fes ...
, following the
high society
High society, sometimes simply society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open to men based ...
of Paris who vacationed there. In 1904, he created a stylish
coiffure
A hairstyle, hairdo, haircut or coiffure refers to the styling of hair, usually on the human scalp. Sometimes, this could also mean an editing of facial or body hair. The fashioning of hair can be considered an aspect of personal groomin ...
for Lily de Moure when she lost her fashionable hat. Her appearance without a hat on the arm of a royal prince caused a sensation; other fashionable ladies soon decided to have their hair styled by Cierplikowski.
In 1909, Cierplikowski started a fashion for a short
bob cut
A bob cut, also known as a bob, is a short to medium length haircut, in which the hair is typically cut straight around the head at approximately jaw level, but no longer than shoulder-length, often with fringe or bangs at the front. The standar ...
which was inspired by
Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronati ...
.
[ In the 1920s, he introduced the shingle cut which became popular with daring young women — the ]Bloomsbury set
The Bloomsbury Group—or Bloomsbury Set—was a group of associated English writers, intellectuals, philosophers and artists in the first half of the 20th century, including Virginia Woolf, John Maynard Keynes, E. M. Forster and Lytton Strac ...
and flapper
Flappers were a subculture of young Western women in the 1920s who wore short skirts (knee height was considered short during that period), bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered acceptab ...
s. In 1924, he dyed his dog's hair blue. This blue hair
Blue hair does not naturally occur in human hair pigmentation, although the hair of some animals (such as dog coats) is described as blue. Some humans are born with bluish-black hair (also known as "blue black" hair), which is black that h ...
was taken up by the first professional interior designer
Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordina ...
, Lady Elsie De Wolfe Mendl, which started a new fad. He created the “garconne” hairstyle for the likes of Coco Chanel
Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel ( , ; 19 August 1883 – 10 January 1971) was a French fashion designer and businesswoman. The founder and namesake of the Chanel brand, she was credited in the post-World War I era with popularizing a sporty, c ...
, Josephine Baker
Josephine Baker (born Freda Josephine McDonald; naturalised French Joséphine Baker; 3 June 1906 – 12 April 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in her adopted Fran ...
, and Edith Piaf
Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English words ēad, meaning 'riches or blessed', and is in common usage in this form in English, German, many Scandinavian languages and Dutch. Its French form is Édith. Contractions and vari ...
. His creations were rumoured to cost up to 500 francs - more than £1,000 in today's money. In the 1930s, he introduced blonde highlight
Highlight or Highlights may refer to:
In arts and entertainment
* Highlight (band), a South Korean boy group
** ''Highlight'' (album), the third album by the group, or its title track"Highlight",
*Highlight, a song by South Korean-Japanese girl ...
s and a style of upswept hair.
In 1924, Cierplikowski opened a salon at Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue (originally Saks & Company; Colloquialism, colloquially Saks) is an American Luxury goods, luxury department store chain headquartered in New York City and founded by Andrew Saks. The original store opened in the F Street and ...
in New York which became the most fashionable hair salon in America. Other famous hairdressers, including Sydney Guilaroff Sydney Guilaroff (November 2, 1907 – May 28, 1997) was a hair stylist during Hollywood's Golden Age, and the first to receive on-screen credit in films. He worked for more than 40 years at Metro Goldwyn Mayer studios, on more than 1,000 fil ...
, established their reputations there.[ The peak of Antoine's career was the ]coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth
The coronation of George VI and his wife, Elizabeth, as King and Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and as Emperor and Empress of India took place at Westminster Abbey, London, on Wednesday 12 May 1937. ...
in 1937, when he supervised 400 coiffures in one night.
Later life
After the death of his wife in 1973, Cierplikowski returned to his birthplace, Sieradz
Sieradz ( la, Siradia, yi, שעראַדז, שערעדז, שעריץ, german: 1941-45 Schieratz) is a city on the Warta river in central Poland with 40,891 inhabitants (2021). It is the seat of the Sieradz County, situated in the Łódź Voivodes ...
, where he died in July 1976.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Antoine de Paris
1884 births
1976 deaths
People from Sieradz
People from Kalisz Governorate
Congress Poland emigrants to France
French people of Polish descent
20th-century French people
20th-century Polish people
French hairdressers
Naturalized citizens of France
Polish fashion
Knights of the Order of Polonia Restituta
Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur