Sam McKnight's Top Hair Moments at Chanel

Last night, the biggest names in fashion and beauty could be found at the Chanel boutique in downtown Manhattan. Not because they were interested in spending mortgage-size amounts of money on tweed jackets and quilted bags (although, I did see a few guests trying on boots in the back), but rather to celebrate the launch of Sam McKnight's first book, Hair by Sam McKnight, which went on sale early last month the delight of fashion nerds everywhere. McKnight and Chanel—or more precisely designer Karl Lagerfeld—have had a long and successful relationship. Since my time at Allure, McKnight has created the dreamy, extravagant hairstyles at every single Chanel and Fendi fashion show and photoshoot, both designed by, or with the aid of, Lagerfeld. "We do six shows a year and they sometimes add one in a different city," says McKnight. "Then we do four campaigns from the shows, but then there are also the [campaigns for the] bags and the glasses, so it's a lot of shooting."

But even with that insanely tall order, McKnight wouldn't have it any other way. "For me, Chanel is the top of the tree really, and for me to get this gig later on in life, it's fantastic and such an honor," he says. "And it's such a pleasure doing these shows—you have no idea how much me and my team look forward to it." That's not only because "Karl is hysterically funny," according to McKnight, but also because not one show is ever the same when it comes to the hair and makeup. Sure, you'll see some similar hairstyles or a recurring bright lip, but it's never the exact look. "When we were putting together the book we went through all the different styles we've done and we counted four ponytails over nine years—but they were very different types of ponytails," he laughs. And with that, we look back at some of our favorite Chanel moments courtesy of this hair genius:

Chanel Métiers d'Art 2016/2017