Spomnim se Keneta Battela
Kenneth Battelle, verjetno prvi frizerski salon, ki je dosegel slavnostni status, je umrl ta vikend v starosti 86 let. To je dokaz, da je bil Battelleov neverjeten talent, da so mu tudi tisti, ki niso poznali njegovega imena, občudovali njegovo delo. Battelle, zgoraj z Joan Rivers leta 1988, se je sprostila, ko je stranke, vključno z prvo damo Jacqueline Kennedy, pozval, da so iz svojih klobukov in stran od trdih, nepopustljivih las iz petdesetih let 20. stoletja. Pioniril je valjane, dražeče lase, ki so znamka zgodnjih šestdesetih let 20. stoletja. “Čeprav je ta slog danes videti nenaravno, je bil pomemben korak daleč od umetnosti stalnih valov in togosti v obeh lasih in obnašanju,” pravi Allure glavni urednik Linda Wells. “Njegov vpliv je bil ogromen.”
Kennedy vzdevek Battelle “sekretar za čiščenje”, vendar so ga vsi drugi imenovali le Kenneth. Njegov seznam strank je vključeval hollywoodske znane osebnosti in družabne dogodke, kot so Audrey Hepburn, Brooke Astor, Lucille Ball in Judy Garland. (Njegova prva naloga v salonu Starlet Beauty v Sirakuzi je bila nekoliko bolj skromna – imel je pogled na avtobusno postajo Greyhound in prostitutke so sestavljali veliko njegovih strank.) Battelle je tudi znano pomagala Marilyn Monroe, ven in jo styled, da peli “Happy Birthday, gospod predsednik” v JFK.
Vendar Battelle ni nikoli napolnil svojega lastnega pomena ali slave. Kljub temu, da je bil fotografiran z Kennedyjem in Monroejem, se s svojimi strankami na splošno ni družil. “Spominjam se Joan Rivers Allure da ji je Kenneth svetoval, naj ga ne vzame na družabne funkcije, ker se je bati, da bo njen status zmanjšal pri svojem frizerskem salonu, “pravi Wells.
Njegova štiristopenjska kozmetika je imela sam sloves. “Spominjam se, da sem obiskal Kennetov salon na vzhodni 54. ulici sredi osemdesetih let,” pravi Wells. “Njegov salon je bil nepričakovano središče različnih navidez nasprotnih socialnih frakcij. Tu je bila Helen Gurley Brown, Cosmopolitan, in bila je Gloria Steinem, vodja feminističnega gibanja, vse pod isto streho. Bilo je neverjetno elegantno – polno mestno hišo, ki jo je zasnoval Billy Baldwin, s chintz chaises pod čevlji za sušenje las in čudovitimi kompleti za čaj iz porcelana. Predvidevam, da je bilo veliko podobno kot domovi njegovih strank, njegove ženske pa so bile udobne tam, klepetali in ležali, kot da bi bili v zasebnem zatočišču. “
Po tem, ko je Battelle izgubil salon v požaru leta 1990, je nadaljeval z delom, kar je ljubil v hotelu Helmsley Palace, kasneje pa Waldorf-Astoria, ki je dokazal, da je bil v resnici pripravljen v Kennethju, človeku in njegovim škarjam. “Obstaja odnos med vsemi kupci in ljudmi za lase,” je nekoč dejal. “To je intimna služba in počutite se nekoliko drugače, kot bi si, če bi prodajali čevlje.”
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Kenneth Battelle, probably the first hair salon to achieve celebrity status, died this weekend at the age of 86. This is proof of Battelles incredible talent, which even those who did not know his name admired his work. Battelle, pictured above with Joan Rivers in 1988, relaxed clients, including First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, from their hats and away from the hard, unyielding hair of the 1950s. He pioneered the rolled, teased hair that was the hallmark of the early 1960s. “Although that style looks unnatural today, it was an important step away from the art of permanent waves and stiffness in both hair and behavior,” says Allure editor-in-chief Linda Wells. “His influence was enormous.” Kennedy nicknamed Battelle the “cleaning secretary,” but everyone else just called him Kenneth. His client list included Hollywood celebrities and social events such as Audrey Hepburn, Brooke Astor, Lucille Ball, and Judy Garland. (His first job at the Starlet Beauty salon in Syracuse was somewhat more modest – he had a view of the Greyhound bus station and prostitutes made up a large part of his clientele.) Battelle also famously helped style Marilyn Monroe for her singing of “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” to JFK. However, Battelle never filled his own importance or fame. Despite being photographed with Kennedy and Monroe, he generally did not socialize with his clients. “I remember Joan Rivers telling Allure that Kenneth advised her not to take him to social functions because he was afraid her status would be diminished at his hair salon,” says Wells. His four-step cosmetics had a reputation of their own. “I remember visiting Kenneths salon on East 54th Street in the mid-1980s,” says Wells. “His salon was an unexpected center of seemingly opposing social factions. There was Helen Gurley Brown, Cosmopolitan, and there was Gloria Steinem, leader of the feminist movement, all under one roof. It was incredibly elegant – a full townhouse designed by Billy Baldwin, with chintz chaises under hair dryers and beautiful porcelain tea sets. I assume it was much like the homes of his clients, and his women were comfortable there, chatting and lounging as if in a private sanctuary.” After Battelle lost his salon in a fire in 1990, he continued to work, doing what he loved at the Helmsley Palace Hotel, later at the Waldorf-Astoria