Guillaume Foundation

Guillaume Guglielmi (1903-1989) was not only one of the greatest creators of hairstyles of our century but also a highly talented sculptor, an avant-garde artist and a patron of the arts.

In order to be able to preserve his inheritance for future generations, Intercoiffure created the “Guillaume Foundation” in 1982, located in its central bureau in Paris, the House of Nations. The personal art work bequeathed by the Maître together with his collections form a little museum, where visitors can admire the marvellous bronze sculptures created by Guillaume, representing his own styles as well as their interpretations by most famous artists.

Guillaume Guglielmi was born in Corsica, like Napoleon. After an education as a draughtsman, he felt drawn to the world of hairdressing and very quickly assimilated its techniques. In 1928, he won the Permanent Wave Championships in Paris and joined the René Rambaud SA as its no.1 hairdresser. At the same time he took master classes and very soon began to teach himself. In 1932, he was engaged by Elizabeth Arden and opened salons in the United States for Arden. In 1936 Guillaume finally opened his own salon at 5, Avenue Matignon which became the meeting point for the most beautiful and famous ladies in Paris.

The cuts and hairstyles of Guillaume have marked his entire epoch as these creations reflected the very spirit of fashion. In 1936, he created the “Page” cut, in 1947 the hairstyles to go with Christian Dior's “New Look” and in 1949, the “Syncopée” line, a blend of short and long hair in a harmony of colour. With the “F” line, he invented the geometrical cut, being ahead of all the creators. By then, Guillaume was styling the hair of the models of most of the Haute Couture Collections. In 1963, he invented the “Lioness” for the painter Léonor Fini, a hairstyle which became world famous. The “Vivante” line (1972) was to be the last one because one year later Guillaume closed down his legendary salon in order to devote himself to sculpting and writing.

Very early, Guillaume's creativity touched other areas apart from hairdressing: his first sculpture “Angel” dates from 1932. Jean Cocteau, whom he met in 1940, be­came a personal friend as did many other artists: the painters Christian Bérard and Gruau, the writer Louise de Vilmorin, the dancer Yvette Chauviré, the couturier of Christian Dior. As a talented sculptor, Guillaume first formed his hairstyles in clay and it was not until he found the perfect line and harmony that he would put them into practise on the heads of his clients, among them many theatre and cinema celebrities.

Maître Guillaume was a discoverer of talents; he formed and fostered many young hairdressers and affirmed: “the future belongs to the young people; one has to understand them if one wants to take care of the future.” In this spirit, the “Guillaume Foundation” together with Intercoiffure Mondial has been awarding every year, since 1993, a prestigious prize to encourage the ”Intercoiffure Juniors”. The ”Prix Guillaume” was awarded to 5 young creators from 5 continents.

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