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Razor Fashion

Edo Smitshuijzen | 24 January 2010

In 1904 King C. Gillette was granted a patent for his 'safety' razor. The Gillette company is now a multi national and still produces razors. Many, many razors in many new models each year. As with most products, there is a constant marketing pressure to 'improve' a product even when there is nothing to improve anymore. Design is often exploited to make products look like 'new' again. Even utilitarian products can no longer escape the force of fashion.

A part of my personal razor collection from the past 15 years that illustrates design progress.

 

 

The traditional safety razor blade remained unchanged for decennia. It was an industry standard that could be used for holders of different brands. Practically everybody still recognises its traditional shape. The first contemporary razor blade didn't have a single blade but two very small ones on top of each other. This would improve the shaving result. The new model started off a race to put ever more blades on top of each other. If two were better than one, three must be better than two. We had left the 'less is more' era and had entered the 'more is better' era. Apparently, we're still not at the close of this era. My latest purchase had 5 blades on top of each other. I don't see any reason why Gillette would stop with this amount.

Not only the amount of blades became more an emotional concept of improved functionality than a rational one, the design of the device had also changed over time. About fifteen years ago, a razor was a simple, functional device. During its development it became bigger and bigger –more of an American size so to speak – but also the shape became more colourful and exuberant. The shape started to look like American football gear, as if shaving was an activity that had to deal with huge forces. Every part was oversized (except for the individual blades). Not only razors suffered from this bizarre typically North American oversizing. Also cars for instance started to look like armoured tanks and all new kitchen equipment took much more space than before – not only literally, but even more so in visual sense. Only computers became much smaller.

From standardised utilitarian product to a fashionable facial hair assault weapon.

However, the visual American sports connotation is for me the most striking change. I guess this type of sports is seen as typically masculine. Shaving in the morning had to be perceived as a sort of exiting sports event, a winning the battle against the unwanted part of your facial hair. It looks as if the development still carries on. I guess the sportive battle with your hair will ultimately develop into something like an every morning crusade. To bring you in the right spirit at the start of a new working day.

The sad part of this new model rage is that buying spare parts – like razor blades – is no longer from this age, so one is forced to buy the latest 'new' model and the packaging of new models has become the only sales pitch, thus the most elaborate (and expensive) part of simple products like razors. And this part is thrown away right after purchase.

Saving our planet is still far off.