Developed as a longer version of the crew cut, the flat top started life as a military hairstyle in the 1950s and was reinvented in the 1980s hip hop scene as the hi-top or flattop fade. Generally achieved using clippers to create a high, squared-off shape, the ultimate tool for those serious about the look is the Flattopper; a huge paddle-shaped comb containing a spirit-level, developed in 1985 by barber Brian Drumm. The always-iconic Grace Jones may have popularised the flat top better than any boys, wearing a geometrically-flawless haircut for her groundbreaking 1980 album Warm Leatherette. Presenting an early version of the androgynous style that would become her trademark and looking like a futuristic Nefertiti, the squared-off cut was allegedly inspired by a drawing by Grace’s then-boyfriend, art director Jean-Paul Goude.