The Kao Salon Global Experience in Amsterdam hosted 2300 hairdressers from around the world, delivering two days of shows, competitions, inspiring artist sessions and award announcements at the Global Creative Awards. The experience built on the virtual events of the past two years, hosting a live summit over October 2 to 3, with live online viewing capabilities for those who couldn’t make it in person.
“It was a huge pleasure to be able to do host the event live again this year,” said John Moroney, VP Creative & Communication. “Our salon owners and stylists were thrilled. According to our stylists, attending this year’s Kao Salon event was like coming home to a family reunion – if your family was made up of the coolest, most creative people in the industry. It’s a place to meet up with like-minded artists and create friendships for life. Every type of creativity was waiting for the guests – from the contemporary colour and style of Goldwell to the street style craftsmanship of KMS and the chic, editorial styling of Oribe.”
The Global Creative Awards were a highlight and featured the debut of the HAIR EVERY WEAR 2.0 collection by the inimitable Goldwell Global Ambassador Angelo Seminara. The collection builds on diversity, combining art, architecture, fashion, philosophy and beauty.
“I look at people as one because I am a people person and I believe in a world without preference and prejudice. HAIR EVERY WEAR 2.0 embraces that feeling, where everyone is unique and everyone is free to be whoever they want to be. It’s going to bring you an emotion, and from an emotion, it becomes a feeling, and from a feeling, it becomes a piece of art,” Angelo said.
Within the myriad of award honours, Australia’s own Abbie Jackson from Temple On Murray salon in Hobart won Bronze in the title of Avant Garde Stylist of the Year. Additionally, salons were recognised across each continent for the title of Salon Sustainability Leadership, where Floke Norway represented Europe, Gene Juarez Salons, Spas & Academies represented North America, red hill hair salon, Hong Kong represented Asia and Shibui represented Australia.
“Kao Salon Australia is so thrilled shibui has been recognised globally for their outstanding commitment to sustainability in salon. Brent Barber and shibui lead the way in incorporating best practices in the way they run their salon. From employees, clients and salon partners, sustainability is at the core of all business decisions,” said Rita Marcon, General Manager Kao Salon ANZ.
The awards evening also included a presentation from Goldwell Ambassador Mario Krankl, which offered a teaser for the Goldwell 75th anniversary coming up in 2023, spoke to the significance of long term brand collaborations with a leading company like Goldwell and evoked a ‘creative hair factory’ of limitless artistic possibilities.
“In my presentation, the square of the Goldwell logo was one of the creative key elements. You can find it in the shapes of the hair and in the fashion as a token of appreciation to my strong partner,” Mario said.
The Artist Sessions were an additional feature, showcasing hair mastery from all over the world. The J.7 Creative Team from Stuttgart, Germany presented the SEROTONIN collection, while the EVOLVE award-winning salon based in Singapore showcased REGOTH: Reimagined Gothic, a couture, Avant Garde editorial offering. Oribe ambassador Stacey Ciceron was another presenter, who educated in textured hair, while international hair stylist Huub Eysink delivered a futuristic message by combining clothing, make up and virtual hair colours in a bold collection. Taz Hair Co. presented their brand of fashion-forward, award-winning, TV-based but always salon relevant style as well.
In a Community Area that bolstered networking opportunities, the event also hosted Academy Sessions at the Academy stage, showcasing five global Academy Teams to detail their city’s major trends. The stage hosted international educators such as Sona Brado and Daniel Bruns, Agnes Westerman and Sascha Haseloff, Salome de Wet and Neil Barton, Kylie Bussing and Jacob Khan and Nicci Welsh. Brand booths from Goldwell, KMS, Varis and Oribe also gave ample opportunities to show and interact with the latest innovations. Importantly, an interactive exhibition jointly presented by Kao Salon’s Sustainability team and the Kao Research & Development team highlighted the company’s Sustainability efforts.
“Showcasing Kao Salon’s sustainability efforts and our commitment to Climate Neutrality is one of the most important messages for our event. With this in mind, we have worked with our event partners to ensure that the Kao Salon Global Experience is 100 per cent Climate Neutral,” John said.
Highlighting pioneers in editorial talent, education, product innovation and sustainability in both awards and creative sessions, while showcasing inspiring hair art along the way, the Kao Salon Global Experience was a European masterclass in all things hair.
Congratulations to the award winners.
New Talent Colorist of the Year
GOLD: Tiew Pei Yu from Malaysia
SILVER: Emily Kooistra from Canada
BRONZE: Lucia McEvoy from United Kingdom
Creative Colorist of the Year
GOLD: Junz Loke from Singapore
SILVER: Ian Lee Jia Pei from Malaysia
BRONZE: Tasha Yip from Hong Kong
Creative Haircutter of the Year
GOLD: Daniela Farzetti from Italy
SILVER: Rafael Monzó López from Spain
BRONZE: Alex Tant from USA
Editorial Colorist of the Year
GOLD: Ben Driscoll-Price from United Kingdom
SILVER: Amy Wardley from United Kingdom
BRONZE: Jack Mead & Lydia Wolfe from United Kingdom
Avant Garde Stylist of the Year
GOLD: Tom Yek Teng Siong from Malaysia
SILVER: Manou Grijsen from Netherlands
BRONZE: Abbie Jackson from Australia – Temple On Murray Hobart
Salon Team of the Year
GOLD: Siew Thiam Kui from Malaysia
SILVER: Rafa Monzó López from Spain
BRONZE: Donna Page from United Kingdom
Men’s Hairstylist of the Year:
GOLD: Andrew Plester from United Kingdom
SILVER: Jeffrey Den Dikkenboer from Netherlands
BRONZE: Jos Verzijlberg from Netherlands
For more information visit www.kaosalondivision.com
Catch up with INSTYLE and Styleicons!
- Subscribe to our bi-monthly magazine
- Check out www.styleicons.com.au
- Subscribe to our twice-weekly newsletter
- View our digital magazine
- Follow us on social media on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn