4 minute read
American Crew All Star Challenge 2021 Australian Winner – Stephanie Pfalzgraf
The American Crew All-Star Challenge brings more than 20 years of brand leadership and history, consisting of individual in-country judging panels to select national winners, annually, who then move forward to participate in the Global competition.
Advertisement
Barbershop Editor Rex A.C. Silver caught up with the 2021 Australian Winner Stephanie Pfalzgraf Firstly congratulations on winning the Australian competition and Wow!, the first female ever to do so! How does that double title feel?
Thank you! I’m feeling really grateful for this opportunity. For me, it’s not so much about titles. I’m not chasing any form of validation because of my gender, or to prove what I’m capable of. I simply enjoy the process of creating and like to explore different mediums to express my thoughts/reflections. I paint a lot, take photos - obviously, I do hair - sometimes I write. I just dig the creative journey. I like to think that I’m here to disrupt and being the first female to receive this title is honouring. Contributing to the change, I like to see is invaluable. Opening up different perspectives and perhaps new ways for others is indescribable. We are finally stepping away from - in my eyes - meaningless ‘norms’. No one should get reduced to their gender or sexuality with regards to their capability, intelligence nor strength. We are all humans at the end of the day, we all have the same worth. There is also no such thing as winning or losing for me. People get caught up in a race, which they create but does not exists. So, they envy other people’s success and happiness and wonder why they feel miserable. They chase something which starts from within. What makes me happy doesn’t mean it will make you happy and vice versa. I see this as an opportunity to grow, to expand my horizon, to explore within myself and I would like to share this with everyone in the industry since we all learn from and with each other.
Please share your Barber Journey with us…
It just happened, perhaps a fortunate coincidence. After highschool, I studied Graphic Design, finished my studies, worked in it for a little and decided to leave Germany and go on an adventure. After a few months traveling through Southeast Asia, I decided to take a break from Graphic Design. Came to Australia, had a few more adventures, and still no clue what I’m going to do with myself. When I arrived in Melbourne, I got introduced to Pavlos and Carmel Divitaris (the founders of BIBA). Without Pavlos and Carmel, I would not be here and do what I do. They provided me a home, tools and knowledge, a new foundation, for which I’m forever thankful. I finished my Barber Course with BIBA sometime in 2016, worked for BIBA/Fleet Street for a year and after that, it was time for a new challenge and joined Kings Domain end of 2017. In the past 4,5 years, I got introduced to so many amazing people from all over the world. It’s a never-ending process of learning, and I’m grateful for everyone who shared their time and knowledge with me. I haven’t entered many competitions, to be honest. Neither do I take photos of my work for my socials. I’m pretty lowkey and create mainly for myself, and for my own sanity. I entered the American Crew All Star Challenge in 2020 for the first time and became a finalist with my look, which was really cool to see. I actually did not want to enter for 2021. I was going through a lot of changes in my private life and was in a bad headspace back then, but I also knew creating or shifting my energy to something that brings me joy will improve my inner state of mind.
Tell us about the inspiration for your winning submission?
We have been facing a radical change over the past few months. A shift happened in our external and internal world. With uncertainty came a lot of clarity. A fundamental change of our basic concepts is unfolding, and society’s norms are slowly fading. I wanted to create an effortless look, showcasing the individual without the limitation of gender and bias. Over the past year, I found beauty in surrendering, accepting, and embracing what we currently have instead of wishing for more, trying to change things that are out of my control, furthermore, constructing an illusion just to please society. My model William has beautiful natural curls, strong but also more delicate facial features which I wanted to highlight. I created this look with square layers and incorporated lots of texture to break up the solid form and to enhance his curls. I decide to leave his hairline natural for a softer/feminine touch instead of working against nature and creating harsh lines around the ears and neck. For styling, I used a mix of Tech Series Control Foam and Fibre Cream to add volume and texture to his hair but also to define his curls. As finishing product, I used Alternator to add slightly more shine to his hair.
Stephanie with Cristobal de la Rubia, Marketing Director - American Crew/Revlon Professional Australia
Stephanie with Cristobal de la Rubia, Marketing Director - American Crew/Revlon Professional Australia
How excited are you for the next steps in the American
Crew All Star Challenge? (Stephanie is now competing against five other finalists from around the world to take home the title of ‘The best up-and-coming barber in the WORLD) I’m not too sure what the next steps are but I’m down for the ride. Haha!
