Celebrating the vast history and influence that hair and beauty have had throughout the ages, Wella Company is partnering with the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris to bring the exhibition ‘Des Cheveux et des Poils’ to the public opening on April 5th, 2023 running through September 17th, 2023.
Marking Wella Company’s first global showcase, the exhibition and partnership with Musée des Arts Décoratifs focus on the intersection between fashion and beauty and the historical, cultural, and personal influence hair, hairstyles, and grooming have made on personal appearance and societal perception through the centuries.
The iconic Wella Company was founded in the late 19th century and quickly became a beauty industry leader and is now one of the fastest-growing professional and retail hair, nail, and beauty tech companies in the world. Among the 600 works presented ranging from the 15th century to the present day, the exhibition highlights some of Wella Company’s contributions across products, services, and tools, including:
- The first hair dryers with built-in motors, and other archival hair tools
- Historic marketing materials for products including Wella-Koleston, “the first hair color cream in a tube.” Today, Koleston Perfect by Wella Professionals remains the #1 global hair color.
- Never-before-seen work by Wella Professionals Global Creative Artist Alexis Ferrer
More about the exhibition:
Following the success of the exhibitions La mécanique des dessous (2013), Tenue correcte exigée ! (2017) and Marche et démarche (2019), the Musée des Arts Décoratifs continues its exploration of the relationship between the body and fashion with an exhibition on hairstyles and body hair grooming. Des Cheveux et des poils (Hair & Hairs) exhibition demonstrates how hairstyles and the grooming of human hair have contributed to the construction of appearances for centuries. Hair is an essential aspect of one’s identity and has often been used as a means of expressing our adherence to a fashion, a conviction, or a protest while invoking much deeper meanings such as femininity, virility, and negligence, to name a few.
The exhibition includes 600 works from the 15th century to the present, with themes inherent in the history of hairstyles and questions related to facial and body hair. The trades and skills of yesterday and today are highlighted with their iconic figures: Léonard Autier (favorite hairdresser of Marie- Antoinette), Monsieur Antoine, the Carita sisters, Alexandre de Paris, and, more recently, studio hairdressers. In addition to this, you can experience significant influences in contemporary fashion, such as Alexander McQueen, Martin Margiela, or Josephus Thimister presenting their spectacular creations made from the fabric of hair.
The exhibition will be presented in Christine & Stephen A. Schwarzman’s fashion galleries of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, and David Lebreton of the Designers Unit agency will create the scenography.
Nearly 150 years later and now in its third year as an independent company, Wella Company and its brands continue to innovate and transform the hair care, color, and styling landscape today.
