Hair Expo is just five (!) weeks away, and won’t be like anything you’ve seen before. As we rapidly close in on the three-day event, Hair Expo has released details about what the industry’s most hotly anticipated evening – the Schwarzkopf Professional Hair Expo Awards Gala – will entail.
In its 31st year, the awards night continues to grow, preparing to host over 1000 guests in 2016, accruing about 200 extra entrants every year, and this year changing it up in terms of judging, venue, entertainment and format.
Here we exclusively set the scene for what the night of June 13 will look like.
2015 Hair Expo Awards
1. The venue
We know you know that Hair Expo has moved to Melbourne because we have personally told you a fair few times, but just in case you’ve forgotten, we advise you not to show up in Sydney come the Queen’s Birthday Weekend.
The expo, and gala evening, will be held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, turning the whole event on its head and ensuring it not like any Hair Expo you’ve experienced before.
2. The format
You’re used to sitting down to a standard (albeit, four-course) dinner while you watch the awards roll on, and this is set to change. Now guests will first enjoy a theatrical dining experience, with gourmet food and sommelier selected wine included. Following this, guests will move to the presentation area, seated in either a Gold Class experience-style area or a VIP table of ten. With desserts and (more) wine served as a prelude to the awards, the attendants will then be able to focus fully on the presentation.
“We all know that hairdressers are the most social people on the planet,” said Hair Expo Event Director, Julie Erben. “So why keep them fixed in a seat? We want everyone to enjoy the industry’s night of nights in the most sociable way – so this year we’ll be working food and wine around our mobile guests.”
3. The entertainment
The event is shedding some light on what you’ll see when you’re planted in those VIP seats. First, US host Richard Reid is back after his stellar performance as last year’s host, to present the awards at an efficient and fast pace, without dinner to break up the proceedings. Entertainment-wise, a live band and other performances (yet to be announced) will highlight the evening. Stay tuned.
Richard Reid at the 2015 Hair Expo Awards
4. The judges
Global icons make up the judging line-up, with the editorial awards decided solely by independent international judges. This year, these names included Mark Hayes, Creative Director of the Sassoon Creative Team; celebrity hairdresser Tabatha Coffey; UK Hairdressing Journal editor Jayne Lewis-Orr; US styling legend, Vivienne Mackinder and X-Presion team member Jorge Cancer. Local industry figures decide the other categories, such as business and education, with a 20-strong panel of Australian and New Zealand hairdressing leaders having their say.
“We are providing a platform for hairdressers at all levels of experience and skill to show their work to the country’s leading industry visionaries,” Julia said. “These are people who can really make careers take off. It’s like an inbuilt mentorship that acts as a propellant for the new stars in our industry. Our judges pay close attention to who is entering, who is persistent and who demonstrates the highest levels of creativity in their work.”
5. The awards
The ingenious awards process prizes business acumen alongside creative ability, with awards decided half by the photographic collection from the entrant and half on the entrant’s year of service to the industry and business performance. This encourages hairdressers to elevate their careers, creatively, professionally and personally, having a positive impact on the industry at large.
“What I’m most proud of is that the Hair Expo Awards push people to have the best careers they can possibly have, this really propels the entire industry to a different level,” Julia enthused. ““We know from feedback that our entrants use the framework of their entry questionnaire as the blueprint for how they manage the preceding 12 months. So Hair Expo is definitely a positive influence on them, motivating them not only to create the most amazing artwork, but to be the very best they can be.”
For more information visit hairexpoawards.com
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