Trevor Sorbie, a celebrity hairstylist who is credited with creating the “wedge” cut made popular by the figure skater Dorothy Hamill, and whose scrunch drying method became widely used in the 1980s, died on Friday at his home in Fareham, England. He was 75.

Bree Davie, the chief executive of Mr. Sorbie’s company, confirmed his death. Mr. Sorbie announced last month that he had bowel cancer that had spread to his liver.

Hair, Mr. Sorbie often mused, could be revolutionary.

In the 1970s, one of the most recognizable hair shapes was Ms. Hamill’s wedge, which inspired viewers as she skated in the 1976 Olympics and shook her locks in shampoo commercials. The style, with short hair at the nape of the neck and longer layers near the face, was modeled after Mr. Sorbie’s original design.

When Mr. Sorbie created the shape in 1974 — by chance, while styling a model before a stage show in Paris — it became so popular that it was featured in a two-page spread in Vogue magazine.

“The wedge captured the spirit of the time and was flaunted in nightclubs around the world,” Mr. Sorbie said on his salon’s website. After creating the style, he added, “I now understood the power of invention.”

Like clothing trends or melodies, hairstyles can also immediately recall the bustle or rebellion of an era. Mr. Sorbie tried to capture a cultural spirit while pushing the boundaries of expression.