Antoni Cierplikowski (photo:public domain)

Antoni Cierplikowski (1884-1976)

One of the most famous hairdressers in history, creator of new trends, friend of crowned heads. Antoni Cierplikowski, the son of a shoemaker, first came across hairdressing at the age of 11. He began his apprenticeship in Łódź, and in 1901 he left for Paris. In 1910 he already had his own hairdressing salon. Thanks to the theater actress Ève Lavallière, he launched a new hairstyle a'la garçon , i.e. a tomboy, which, combined with Coco Chanel dresses, became the beginning of a new image of a woman after the First World War.

The master brushed the most famous artists and created hairstyles concepts for film studios and stars (it was he who created the image of Josephine Baker). He was extremely serious about his profession, but he believed that he was nothing less than a hairdresser. He was a perfectionist, he hated staff friendships and clients, and he never made a mistake in choosing a hairstyle for clients.

He built a global hair and beauty empire that spanned several continents. After the Second World War, he returned to Paris, where he trained the next generation of hairdressers. He became known as an exceptional eccentric - he created a glass floor in his tenement house, and he slept in a crystal coffin himself. At the end of his life, after the death of his wife, he returned to his hometown of Sieradz. He died there at the age of 92.