Antoni Cierplikowski (Polish pronunciation: ; 24 December 1884 – 5 July 1976) was a Polish hairdresser who became the world's first celebrity hairdresser when he opened the salon Antoine de Paris in Paris and became known as Monsieur Antoine. Among his clients were world-famous female personalities like

Coco Chanel Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel ( , ; 19 August 1883 – 10 January 1971) was a French fashion designer and Businessperson, businesswoman. The founder and namesake of the Chanel brand, she was credited in the post-World War I era with populari ...

Sarah Bernhardt Sarah Bernhardt (; born Henriette-Rosine Bernard; 22 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including by Alexandre Dumas fils, ...

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, U.S. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, and Brigitte Bardot.

Early life

Cierplikowski was born in Sieradz,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, and learnt

hairdressing A hairdresser is a person whose occupation is to cut or style hair in order to change or maintain a person's image. This is achieved using a combination of hair coloring, haircutting, and hair texturing techniques. A hairdresser may also be r ...

by working for his uncle in

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

. In December 1901, he moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France. He married Berthe Astier on 24 January 1909 in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England, where they were both learning English.

Career

After moving to Paris, Cierplikowski worked in the

salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

at Galeries Lafayette. During the summer season, he worked in

Deauville Deauville () is a communes of France, commune in the Calvados (department), Calvados department, Normandy (administrative region), Normandy, northwestern France. Major attractions include its port, harbour, Race track, race course, marinas, con ...

, following the

high society High society, sometimes simply Society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth, power, fame and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open ...

of Paris who vacationed there. In 1904, he created a stylish coiffure for Lily de Moure when she lost her fashionable hat. Her appearance without a hat on the arm of a royal prince caused a sensation; other fashionable ladies soon decided to have their hair styled by Cierplikowski. In 1909, Cierplikowski started a fashion for a short bob cut which was inspired by

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc ( ; ; – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the Coronation of the French monarch, coronation of Charles VII o ...

. In the 1920s, he introduced the shingle cut which became popular with daring young women — the Bloomsbury set and

flapper Flappers were a subculture of young Western women prominent after the First World War and through the 1920s who wore short skirts (knee length was considered short during that period), bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their ...

s. In 1924, he dyed his dog's hair blue. This blue hair was taken up by the first professional

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, Lady Elsie De Wolfe Mendl, which started a new fad. He created the “garconne” hairstyle for the likes of

Josephine Baker Freda Josephine Baker (; June 3, 1906 – April 12, 1975), naturalized as Joséphine Baker, was an American and French dancer, singer, and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in France. She was the first Black woman to s ...

, and

Edith Piaf Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English word , meaning ''wealth'' or ''prosperity'', in combination with the Old English , meaning '' strife'', and is in common usage in this form in English, German, many Scandinavian lang ...

. His creations were rumoured to cost up to 500 francs - more than £1,000 in today's money. In the 1930s, he introduced blonde highlights and a style of upswept hair. In 1924, Cierplikowski opened a salon at

Saks Fifth Avenue Saks Fifth Avenue (Colloquialism, colloquially Saks) is an American Luxury goods, luxury department store chain founded in 1867 by Andrew Saks. The first store opened in the F Street and 7th Street shopping districts, F Street shopping distric ...

in New York which became the most fashionable hair salon in America. Other famous hairdressers, including Sydney Guilaroff, established their reputations there. The peak of Antoine's career was the

coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The coronation of the British monarch, coronation of George VI and his wife, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, Elizabeth, as King of the United Kingdom, king and List of British royal consorts, queen of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth realm, ...

in 1937, when he supervised 400 coiffures in one night.

Later life

After the death of his wife in 1973, Cierplikowski returned to his birthplace, Sieradz, where he died in July 1976.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Antoine de Paris 1884 births 1976 deaths People from Sieradz People from Kalisz Governorate Emigrants from Congress Poland to France French people of Polish descent 20th-century French people 20th-century Polish people French hairdressers Naturalized citizens of France Polish fashion Knights of the Order of Polonia Restituta Knights of the Legion of Honour