Paint, Powder and Politics: Hair in the Georgian Age

This talk will explore how hairstyles evolved from relatively modest fashions into towering architectural creations that communicated wealth, political allegiance and social ambition. Looking at Britain, France and revolutionary America, it will examine the rise of elaborate coiffures, colourful hair powders and props, and the remarkable creativity of 18th-century hairdressers, whose growing expertise transformed their profession into one of status and influence.

Along the way, we'll uncover how hair became unexpectedly political – from William Pitt's Hair Powder Tax, which helped change men's hairstyles forever, to Benjamin Franklin's surprising influence on French fashion, where his iconic fur cap is said to have inspired the quirky coiffure à la Franklin.

Through stories of innovation, vanity, revolution, and self-expression, this talk will uncover how hair in the Georgian era was rarely about appearance alone, but allowed the wearer to make a powerful statement about identity in an age of dramatic social and political change.