More than 120 Intercoiffure members gathered at The Aloft hotel in Perth for the annual Atelier, a national gathering for the entire country’s members and board members to come together and celebrate the foundation of Intercoiffure – education, inspiration and collaboration, writes Cameron Pine.
Intercoiffure retains its position as the longest standing international, invitation-only organisation of high-quality hairdressing standards, comprising over 3000 salons spread across 55 countries. Member salons are implored with global skills and trends to maintain the highest standards of quality and expert salon service with an education focus with an annual event like no other. The organisation’s annual Atelier celebrated those values.
“After the past two AGMs were held via zoom due to COVID, and with our inability to run an event at the scale of Atelier, it is so good to be able to enjoy fellowship, person to person, instead of through our devices,” said Intercoiffure Australia President Jas Jhally. “Events such as this require a lot of time and commitment for them to run smoothly. The board have spent many hours planning this event – we hope it will be remembered as one of the best! With a personality such as Tabatha Coffey it certainly is going off with a bang.”
Beginning with a video that encapsulated the global reach of Intercoiffure, members were more than ready take in a room filled with opportunity from local to abroad. Two full days of presentations included a creative on-stage hair demonstration from the Guillaume team at the rooftop cocktail event. Art Team Director Terrina Brown shared an insight into the 70s theme of the night celebration.
“This year our events have a bit of a 70s vibe so I look forward to seeing you all in colour – and even more tonight,” she said.
The night’s show featured mentoring by World Guillaume Director Mat Johnson and the Australian Guillaume team presented a transformation hair show using wigs for dramatic results.
Day two saw a poolside ‘groove’ themed presentation that mimicked an art installation – conjuring up Palm Springs vibes, with Aloft hotel pool as the perfect backdrop for this inspirational immersion.
Kicking off the business focused content, L’Oréal Professionnel’s Sylvia Stewart delved into a presentation that dissected key trends both macro and micro across digital, education and the consumer. Revealing that ‘haircare’ is the number one beauty search and sharing the rise in glossing services, Sylvia discussed the brand’s commitment to sustainability and the future.
“Beauty is a powerful force that moves us. Beauty is more than just looking good. Beauty gives us confidence and its who we want to be in our relationships with others,” said Sylvia. “At L’Oréal we want to share some insights and research to support your business around the consumer, sustainability, ethics and diversity, innovation and technology and the power of education.”
From how to directly welcome diverse groups into the salon, to the correct use of pronouns and truly understanding your customer, the insights were valuable to every staff member and Intercoiffure member.
Tabatha Coffey almost needs no introduction – as a native Australian hairdresser Tabatha rose to hairdressing fame in 2007 on the TV show Shear Genius, before her own show started in 2008 – Tabatha’s Salon Takeover. This year, as an exclusive for Intercoiffure and for the first time in Australia since 2019, Tabatha presented a new side of her life by showing up with a stronger sense of vulnerability than ever before. After a tumultuous few years and some personal struggles she decided to talk through our personality traits through the four colour personality types. Going deep into the variables of reds who are constantly spinning and motivated by power, blue by intimacy, grey by peace and yellow by fun – it was interesting to see how many reds were in the room.
Tabatha spoke about a range of topics really suited to a diverse audience and an agile salon team, including the price we pay for fear and what really holds us back. She explained things like how to speed up services without sacrificing quality and how to meet clients’ needs who want luxury at every step of the process – even though it’s a word she feels is overused, it’s important to know our place in the market.
“Before COVID it was all about express but we’ve put the value back. People want community and they want connection,” Tabatha said. “Coming out to spaces and places where they feel comfortable and included are essential when they are spending money.”
Speaking toward how easy it is to get caught up in the fear of change it’s interesting that we work in an industry that’s all about change but we are scared about change in business.
“I’m a different person now. I’m not as inclined to feel obligated. To me everything feels more about the human connection. You become the people you hang around, you become these thoughts,” she said.
A weekend of defining moments from mindset to creativity to respecting the craft and our leaders, Perth’s Aloft hotel was abuzz with colour and creativity. As a sister hotel to the W Hotels brand, it was the ideal backdrop for a fresh approach to Atelier, which welcomed new salons and fresh members to the group but also celebrated those long-standing board members that make it all happen.
Some special acknowledgements from the night celebration included Fashion Directors in attendance from each state and awards to members and board members for their contribution. Congratulations to those acknowledged.
Fashion Directors:
Terrina Brown – National Fashion Director
James Calabria – ACT state Fashion Director
Wendy Young – NSW state Fashion Director
Damien Kabay – WA state Fashion Director
Virginia Hill – VIC state Fashion Director
Guillaume team presenting live models on-stage:
Mat Johnson
Jacinta Tapner
Kristy McLennan
Shannon Whyte
Francesca Bettiol
Renae Robbins
Ben Semple
Bianca Schenk
Awards:
New Member Awards
Rebecca Ahern
Jaqui Despotoski
Life Achievement Award
June Wilde
Officer Award
Roseanne Mallett
La Foundation Guillaume Award
Mat Johnson
Silver Jubilee Award
Wendy young
Terrina brown
Elizabeth Maher
Damien Kabay
Life Member Award
Tricia Hicks
Tony Mitchell
Special Guest Recognition
Tabatha Coffey
For more information visit www.intercoiffure.com.au
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