He is a hairdresser of national and international renown and this year his family is celebrating one hundred years in the industry. Andrew Collinge has maintained the tradition of offering cutting edge creativity in salons in Manchester, Liverpool, Lancashire, Cheshire and Wirral. Here we mark this centenary with some great photographs and video.

Andrew and his wife, Liz, made a television series for Channel 4 called 'Icons'. Each episode explored the beauty secrets of a movie legend. Click here to watch the edition devoted to Rita Hayworth.

The story of the Collinges and hair begins in 1910 when Andrew Collinge's grandfather, Wilfred, trained as a barber at Browns Barbers in Southport. Like many men and women of his age Wildred's life and career were interrupted and influenced by the hardships of war. He served in the trenches of World War I before joining the Merchant Navy in 1920 as the official barber on board the SS Apapa.

These post war years were a time of release, rebellion and expression - it was the Jazz Age and women were empowered by the likes of screen vamp Lousie Brooks. She was a natural beauty, but it was her precise bob that drove her fictional male suitors mad with desire and revealed that women could be strong too. Circumnavigating the globe it seems that Wilfred slowly dtew up plans to do business on dry land and, in 1940, despite another world war, he opened a small salon in Liverpool's West Derby district called 'Collinges'.

Peter Collinge followed in his father's footsteps. He became a successful apprentice hairdresser and went to sea and to war in 1944. He also became the Navy's favourite hairdresser. Now, influential screen sirens were the likes of Veronica Lake and Rita Hayworth, hair was long and styled, perhaps falling seductively over one eye. Hollywood defined tastes and Peter was able to perfect his skills and devise new techniques by styling G.I. brides and Wrens stationed around the world. After the war Peter continued to work at sea styling British and American High Society during trans-Atlantic crossings. His clients included celebrities and movie stars like Elizabeth Taylor.

In 1949 Peter returned to Liverpool where, working from his father's salon, he became one of Britain's best known and best loved competition hairdressers, winning numerous awards and prizes and rubbing shoulders with other contemporary greats like Xavier Wenger, Silvio Camillo and Pip Evangelista. Here the unique Collinge style was developed and defined and which is still evident today in Andrew's work: neat, beautifully crafted and deceptively simple. Peter Collinge's skills were much admired by his peers, peers that included a young Vidal Sassoon.

Peter opened his first 'Peter Collinge' salon in Liverpool in 1951 with his model wife, Hazel. 'Peter Collinge' was the salon 'du jour' and swiftly became part of the exciting fabric of Merseybeat and the fashion revolution that accompanied it. More 'Peter Collinge' salons followed and, in 1974, the Peter Collinge training empire was established. Since then thousands of young stylists have passed through the Collinge school doors - a school that has endured and expanded and was only recently glowingly praised by Ofsted.

Now Andrew Collinge leads an award winning chain of salons and barbers across the North West. There's a flagship salon on Castle Street in Liverpool, winner of Salon of the Year in 2008; and the company went on to win Salon Group of the Year in 2009. Andrew Collinge Hairdressing has gone on to fulfil Peter’s vision of giving practicing and recently qualified stylists a chance to get real salon experience, while being able to offer contemporary hairdressing to clients, particularly students, at affordable prices. This autumn saw the opening of the ultra stylish 'Graduates' salon and Training College in Liverpool's Bold Street, embracing and expressing the Collinge family beliefs and standards set over 100 years ago.