HAIR FESTIVAL: COMPETITIONS

BORN TO COMPETE

THE LIVE HAIR FESTIVAL COMPETITIONS INSPIRED ON STAGE AS A MYRIAD OF TALENTED HAIRDRESSERS SHOWED OFF THEIR SKILLS AND WON FOR THEIR EFFORTS.

Monday June 12 saw the second day of Hair Festival 2023, and the lauded Hair Festival Competitions closed out the proceedings. Showcasing competition formats with cut, style, barber and colour categories, as well as live model reveals and winner announcements, the competitions showcased to a full crowd at Carriageworks on Monday afternoon.

In the event’s second instalment, there were a dynamic six categories for hairdressers to enter. Congratulations to all the entrants and to the medallists. In Women’s Street Style, Laura McDonald of Maverick Hair & Art won first place, while David Azar of David Azar Salon came second. David also won for styling The Bob, both of which were new categories dedicated to wearable, trending and relevant women’s styles.

Wow Hair Wickham, with a team of Kimberly Martz, Sienna Shields and Charlie Carruthers, won the Dream Team Collab relay category, winning for an artful hair sculpture that wowed the crowd and was a feat of visual effects and engineering with a smoke machine mechanism embedded in the hair!

Editorial Glam Slam was won by Rose Thorogood of The Hair Posey, while Hannah Trenaman from the Butterfly MUA was runner up. Both hair artists created glamorous up styles complemented by fancy fashion styling as well.

The Barber Street category was well contested with an array of entries, and the coveted title went to Milo Le of Ikigai Barber, while Daniel Banford of Hearts & Minds won second place. Splash of Colour was also a competitive field, and Domi Pinalli of Domi Pinalli Hair won the title, in a big day that also included a later win for Independent Stylist of the Year at the Australian Hair Industry Awards (Creative), while Candy Stayte of Candy’s Coiffure and Curls, came second. There was an increase of 10 per cent in competitor numbers this year in both of these categories.

The winners took home the inimitable Hair Festival trophy, as well as winning future editorial coverage in INSTYLE and Styleicons. Moreover, Sharpline Scissors provided scissor kits for the winners valued at over $1300 for both the Barber Street and Women’s Street Style cutting competitions. Natural Look provided each of the winners with a retail product pack valued at over $1500 for the brands LuminArt and Hair Food.

SmartPay sponsored the Barber Street category and Wisely Works awarded a voucher to the Editorial Glam Slam winner for The Foundation Set valued at $1798, to educate on online presence and client interactions from a leading hair and makeup expert.

All entrants saw their work paraded and applauded in front of a full crowd, with that priceless experience buoying the Hair Festival Competitions through another

important year and keeping the spirit of live hairdressing competitions alive. Next year, throw your hat in the ring for all the prizes and benefits on offer.

Congratulations to the winners!

For more information visit www.hairfestival.com.au