INFEATURE: WINNERS CIRCLE

WINNERS CIRCLE

WE TALK TO THE WINNERS OF THE LIVE HAIR FESTIVAL COMPETITIONS ACROSS EDITORIAL, COLOUR, MEN’S AND TEAM CATEGORIES OF TALENT, TO GAIN THEIR INSIGHTS INTO THEIR JOURNEYS, COMPETING LIVE AND, OF COURSE, THE BEAUTY OF THE WIN.

EDITORIAL GLAM SLAM

PAUL JAMES GRAHAM, PAUL & PAUL SALON

INSTYLE: TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR EXPERIENCE AS A HAIRDRESSER.

Paul James Graham: I’m the Co-Owner of Paul & Paul Salon on the Gold Coast. I’ve been hairdressing for almost 20 years and still love it.

IN: WHY DID YOU ENTER THE HAIR FESTIVAL COMPETITIONS?

PJG: For the opportunity to bring home an award! The Hair Festival competitions are a great platform for exposure and showcasing your creativity and winning a trophy goes a long way in the promotion of my career and salon business.

IN: WHAT DID IT MEAN TO YOU TO WIN?

PJG: Winning at this year’s competition was both exciting and satisfying. A lot of prep work goes into creating a total look, so it meant a lot to me to see that hard work pay off.

IN: TELL US ABOUT YOUR WINNING LOOK?

PJG: My winning entry was a look pulled from my Australian Hair Industry Awards (Creative) Avant Garde Finalist collection titled ‘Le Bijou De Julie’. Visually I aspired for that elevated Haute Couture Look, something you’d see on the runway in Paris.

IN: WHAT INSPIRES YOU EDITORIALLY?

PJG: The Haute Couture collections of Dior, Chanel or Alexander McQueen to name a few. I draw particular inspiration from technically advanced and innovative work.

IN: WHAT IS YOUR TOP TIP FOR LIVE COMPETITIONS?

PJG: Arrive prepared. Make sure you know exactly what you’re doing and that you can complete the look perfectly in the time allocated. Engage the talents of a runway model or someone who could be one. In a live competition your entire look is judged head to toe in person. You will likely fare better with a model who can best sell your look on stage and when walking the runway.

IN: WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE EDITORIAL TECHNIQUE?

PJG: Hair ornamentation that I sew into the hair.

SPLASH OF COLOUR

ALISHA LAFFERTY, ANALOG HAIR

INSTYLE: TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR EXPERIENCE AS A HAIRDRESSER.

Alisha Lafferty: I’m so lucky as a hairstylist to get the opportunity to do the creative work I love and admire all the time. I work at Analog Hair in South Yarra where I specialise in scalp lighteners and vivid colours, as well as anything from pixie mullets to long lush shags. I have such a great space and community where the creative artist in me gets to express her vision in her style and her way.

IN: WHY DID YOU ENTER THE HAIR FESTIVAL COMPETITIONS?

AL: I entered the Hair Festival competition to challenge myself and my abilities as a stylist.

IN: TELL US ABOUT YOUR WINNING LOOK?

AL: My winning look was inspired by modern day aesthetics, as a “mod” style haircut with texture and shape. For the placement of colour I wanted to take the title of ‘Splash of Colour’ literally by doing a panel across the hair looking like a splash.

IN: WHAT INSPIRES YOU IN COLOUR?

AL: I find a lot of my inspiration through social media. Some of my favourite Instagram pages I follow include @elevatehair, @unitedbyshorthair and @quqa_ura.

IN: WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE COLOUR TECHNIQUE?

AL: My favourite colouring technique at the moment is using negative space in between my vivid colour to create dimension and pop, depending on the client and where I want to draw the eye.

IN: DO YOU HAVE ANY FINAL THOUGHTS ON THE COMPETITION?

AL: Entering the competition was a great experience and winning it just topped off an already great weekend at Hair Festival. It has given me so much drive to do more and enter again.

BARBER STREET

BENJAMIN TUITA, BOY+CO

INSTYLE: TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR EXPERIENCE AS A HAIRDRESSER.

Benjamin Tuita: My barber journey began six years ago. I was looking for something I am deeply passionate about and that I could be the best in the world at, as well as what would drive my economic engine. With those objectives to guide me I was conscious about experiencing everything that inspired me. I ended up enrolling in the Barber & Co Academy in Vancouver, Canada, headed by former TONI&GUY Creative Director Ian Daburn. I then continued my education at the London Barber School before attending the Sassoon Academy in Toronto. I then pursued precision cutting education under JB Mazella of Mazella&Partners. I eventually returned to Australia and opened up BOY+Co, which is located in Canberra. In the two years since we opened, I have launched an academy and provide educational opportunities for staff with the Barber Programs at Canberra’s Institute of Technology and our own internal workshops.

IN: WHY DID YOU ENTER THE HAIR FESTIVAL COMPETITIONS?

BT: I took the last two years to just stop, I felt this responsibility to observe and collect aesthetic information. I have always had this vibrant spirit that is always moving, running, and collecting. I was drawing from the past while looking ahead, trying to question our frame of discipline within hair. All these things are encompassed with Hair Festival - the ability to come together, share, question, redefine and connect in real time. It was the perfect opportunity to unveil, connect and inspire.

IN: WHAT DID IT MEAN TO YOU TO WIN?

BT: This was an amazing platform and opportunity. I actually just wanted to create and inspire. It was a haven to foster all the things I believe artists appreciate. To share the stage with so many talented artists, to win the award and then speaking with INSTYLE has been a beautiful experience.

IN: TELL US ABOUT YOUR WINNING LOOK?

BT: In the last two years I investigated multiple disciplines of art to give me a design language. I didn’t want to be dogmatic in my lens. I had travelled the world as a young artist experiencing different cultures and perspectives. I stood in rooms and rubbed shoulders with the people who have reached this discipline’s highest potential, from the colour and clipper work of the Americas to the precision cutting and styling of the UK and Europe, so I had this concept of incorporating all these things into one haircut. I tried to achieve creative fading to salute our family in the US while strategically placing colour within our graduation. I then utilised the precision cutting and styling with a wide tooth comb on top. I wish I had more time but, whatever the amount, I felt the idea was too good not to finish.

IN: WHAT INSPIRES YOU IN MEN’S HAIR?

BT: Initially the work out of the US inspired me into barbering. I travelled around the US booking education from different barbers that inspired me on Instagram. Towards the end of my time at barber school I felt this paradigm shift towards precision cutting. I then found this new inspiration from Sassoon when I saw their techniques on social media delving into the ‘why?’ of hair. The beautiful thing about social media is we now have a fascinating lens from the general public or the tourist lens, to quote Virgil Abloh, who are bright eyed, interested, and scaled much bigger. I also think of the young artists I am involved with and how fascinating it is to listen to their view on our industry. I now seek inspiration from the artists who are only just engaging in our discipline. I also look back throughout history into many different forms of artistic disciplines, from art to fashion and music, to curate a language I can design from.

IN: WHAT IS YOUR TOP TIP FOR LIVE COMPETITORS?

BT: Stay present. Speaking to a few competitors afterwards, nerves were a part of every conversation. Only in the here and now can we fully appreciate and enjoy any experience. With all the talent we have in this industry it would be amazing to see more artists looking to express themselves at next year’s Hair Festival.

IN: WHERE DO YOU SEE THE FUTURE OF THE MEN’S HAIR SPACE GOING?

BT: The conversation around culture and trends. I believe we have a responsibility now to put ourselves in the conversation of artists and designers in controlling culture. Like other art disciplines we’ve always had the purists and disciplinarians in the nuances of hair. I feel now with social media we have invited in the public who have been able to view our industry as an art form. We should go beyond looking at trends and express ourselves as part of this collective language in design that is educating the public. We should be shaping culture from within and not being boxed in by other mediums.

DREAM TEAM COLLAB

GEORGINA FARDOULIS, ANDY KWAN AND LOUISE BLAKE, TONI&GUY CRONULLA

IN: WHY DID YOU ENTER THE HAIR FESTIVAL COMPETITIONS?

Georgina Fardoulis: I entered the competition because I wanted to learn how to create an editorial look. By being in a team with two seniors at my work I definitely learnt a lot. Another reason would be to become more confident in competition scenarios, to make me better prepared for the future.

Andy Kwan: We entered the competition to challenge ourselves both individually and as a team.

Louise Blake: We decided to enter the live competition for a bit of fun and for something different. We like to do new things that make us slightly uncomfortable.

IN: WHAT DID IT MEAN TO YOU TO WIN?

GF: With all the work we put in prior to the competition, the hours spent practicing and all the materials we made before hand for our look, it felt very good to be noticed and appreciated for our hard work.

AK: It made me feel like we could achieve anything if we put our minds to it.

LB: It was fantastic to win especially as our whole team was there supporting us. We also had to go straight from the live competition to the AHIAs so it was nice to arrive on a high.

IN: TELL US ABOUT YOUR WINNING LOOK?

GF: Our winning look was an editorial look. We had made materials prior that included a figure eight braid and fish tail braids. Throughout our look we implemented a lot of textures and different colours for the final reveal.

AK: We went for more of an editorial look with multiple different types of braids, playing around with different textures and contrasting colours to give off a sense of excitement in the look. We used a large fishtail braid as a focal point and basket weave to accent the entire look, with the figure eight braid tying the whole look together.

LB: Our look was designed by all three competitors in our team to make the experience as inclusive as possible. We wanted a simple but effective look made up of different techniques of braids and colours.

IN: WHAT MAKES COMPETING AS A TEAM SO UNIQUE RATHER THAN COMPETING INDIVIDUALLY?

GF: Competing as a team, I think, is more important because you’re a part of a group of people who are all contributing to this one look. When competing with my team we were well prepared prior and all made sure our ten minutes were used productively. What makes our team unique was that we were all on the same wavelength and all learnt the beginning of the other team members’ looks to keep the flow moving forward.

AK: We can rely on each other if one person is struggling, another person can pick up from where they left off.

LB: Competing as a team is really unique as you have to be able to work together and be supportive of each other, also you have to have the trust in each other.

IN: WHAT IS YOUR TOP TIP FOR LIVE COMPETITIONS?

GF: To not stress a lot. I feel as though sometimes I stress to the point of ruining or rushing a look, which can be very selfdamaging. When you keep an open mind and relax it usually all works out.

AK: Lots of preparation and rehearsals.

LB: My top tip for a live competition is to have a really strong foundation and get lots of practice together as a team.

IN: WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOUR SALON TEAM?

GF: This past month our salon team has entered into the AHIAs! We have also just finished up four different photoshoots in the past three days for the Australian Hair Fashion Awards (AHFAs).

AK: Entering more photoshoots and creative competitions.

LB: Our salon team has just entered seven AHIA business award categories and 4 AHFA photographic categories so we are really excited about that. We also have our salon conference coming up where I take the team away for a few days, which is always so much fun!