9 Nov 2024
The hairdressing icon has passed away on the 8th of November after a 5 year battle with cancer
The Scottish celebrity hairdresser was best known as the creator of the wedge haircut, the wolf cut and scrunch styling. He also won the British Hairdresser of the Year award four times.
Trevor John Sorbie was born in Paisley, Scotland on the 13th of March 1949 and started hairdressing in 1964 as an apprentice to his father. In 1969 at the age of 20 he opened his first salon, a barbers, in Edmonton, North London.
In 1972 he became a stylist for the icon Vidal Sasson and in 1973 became the Artistic Director. In the following years he was a stylist and session hairdresser for Toni & Guy and John Frieda and opened his first unisex salon in Stamford Street, London in 1977. His second salon was opened in Covent Garden in 1979 and the third in Brighton in 2004. Further salons were opened in Bristol, Hampstead, Manchester and Richmond. During his career he had many celebrity clients including the Beach Boys, Dame Helen Mirren and the skaters Torvill and Dean.
Sorbie was appointed a MBE in the 2004 New year Honours for services to hairdressing.
His TV credits were numerous appearing as a stylist or guest expert and he appeared in many magazines such as Grazia, Harper's Bazaar, Look Magazine, Prima, Now magazine to name a few.
In his later years Sorbie worked extensively on his own charity "My New hair". The charity was aimed at improving wig services on the NHS for cancer patients. During his time working for the charity he visited 10, Downing Street and met with several MPs with the aim of improving NHS services. The charity teaches stylists how to style wigs in a way that they look like natural hair and it was Sorbie's goal to create a National standard which would eventually scale to an international standard.
In 2019 Sorbie was diagnosed with bowel cancer and in October 2024 he appeared on the TV show This Morning to announce the cancer had spread to his liver and he had a few weeks to live. He died at home on the 8th November aged 75. A statement from his salon team said that " his vision set new standards and continues to aspire generations" before adding that his team is committed to "carrying forward his legacy".