If you’re of a certain age like me – a child of the 80s – then you must surely remember seeing these unmistakeable decals adorning local hairdresser windows up and down the land. The slightly wonky line art and block colours, bombastic type and blaring contrasting colours…this can only be the beauty standards of the 1980s.
Yes, they are trashy as all hell but that’s why I love them. I also love them because they are a mangled version of high-end 80’s fashion illustration translated to the high street. They boom an aspirational level of beauty to all those who pass through the salon doors.
The originator of this much knocked-off and now slightly maligned style was Patrick Nagel, whose work is best known on the cover of Duran Duran’s Rio album. Criticised now for being cold and vacant, to me they sum up that 80s aesthetic of removed, cool and haughty glamour. Did I mention I love them?! So much so I’ve been drawing my own.
There she is, with an unreadable expression and a geometric shape thrown in for good 80’s measure. Bring back the trashy decals and let us dream of monstrous sprayed-up fringes once more. And if you love her as much as I do you can buy a print here!