To sculpt a head of hair with scissors is an art form. It's in pursuit of art.

If someone were to ask me, 'What's the number one thing, in essence, that you left behind?'... it was the teaching of others, so that they could take my work and take it further.

When I was about 10 I ran away to see my father. He couldn't have cared less. He just took me back as soon as he could.

You never argued with my mother. You couldn't win.

If you have a sense of style and purpose and will you don't want to compromise.

Hair excited me. As the old ways - backcombing, rollers and rigidity - went out of the window, I started to feel the possibilities in front of my eyes.

I'll never forget one morning I walked in and I had a hell of a bruise - it had been a difficult night the night before - and a client said to me, 'Good God, Vidal, what happened to your face?' And I said, 'Oh, nothing, madam, I just fell over a hairpin.'