Five Finger Blow Dry Hairstyle

The hairstyle is to humans what the peak is to a mountain. While the latter often discreetly eludes the gaze amidst the swirling clouds, the peaks of humans are almost always visible—especially in those latitudes that have renounced the permanent use of caps, hats, and headscarves. The pressure to style one's hair is understandably immense. A collection of photographs by the photographer Peter Gaechter, created for the Zurich hairdresser Elsässer Pour Dames, showcases the changes and revivals in hair design in Switzerland. Beginning in the 1970s and ending in the 90s, this publication gathers photographs from the so-called display books that were available in the salon of the upscale hairdresser, each representing current hairstyle trends. The images depict not only sculptural-looking hairstyles that were to be replicated as closely as possible on the heads of clients but also indicators of the zeitgeist. Whether "Cold War Kids," "Punk," "Five-Finger Hairdryer Hairstyle," "70s Charlie's Angels Bangs," or "Old Hollywood"—the diverse hairstyles of the depicted local beauties, It-girls, and actresses manifest both the arbitrary nature of liberal consumer cultures and concrete societal change, such as the sudden appearance of a bulky mobile phone as an accessory to the pixie cut. Gaechter's photographs also testify to an era when the profession of photography was still characterized by a spirit of professionalism. No snapshots, no sought-after amateur aesthetics, no strategic trash—Gaechter's images are aimed at a clientele that sought distinction, much like photography once claimed for itself.