Hairspray! Hairdressing competition

This silent clip shows a contest for best hair style and best hairdresser, featuring some leading Australian hairdressers of the time.

It reveals remarkable styles and curious fashions from the late 1960s – some of the girls on show look as though they have just come off set of the feature film Hairspray, as directed by American filmmaker John Waters.

The hair models are filmed seated as they are judged and inspected by the committee members.

This clip is an excerpt from a silent amateur film originally shot on standard 8mm. It was filmed by George Sullivan (now deceased) at an event supported by the International Hair Stylists Society of Australia at Melbourne Town Hall in 1968.

Sullivan made several films that document the Australian hair industry. His film collection was donated to the NFSA by Alan Wickes, who was part of the International Hair Stylists Society of Australia from 1961–1988.

Notes by Tara Marynowsky