Over the weekend, the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardis Gras took over Oxford Street and really the city at large, and in its 40th anniversary, no less. Wella Professionals and 80 of their stylists and brand representatives were on hand as the event’s official hair partner, celebrating this historic time in Australian history with an inspiring #LoveInColour message. Also, we feel it’s important to mention, Cher was there.
The brand put out a suitably sparkly, colourful float, one of 195 floats in the parade that featured 12,300 participants. The star of the Wella Professionals float was Drag talent Krystal Kleer, who whipped her styled hair to Willow Smith’s ‘Whip My Hair’, in front of 500,000 parade-watchers. It was just one important cog in an all-encompassing carnival of love, acceptance and that significant, symbolic rainbow, with Sydney given the chance to truly celebrate the recent vote for equality, and 40 years of Mardi Gras an annual must-attend event in Australia’s calendar.
Krystal is renowned for her electric collection of wigs and hair creations, which she co-creates herself, and as such her Mardi Gras ensemble was co-created by herself and Wella Professionals Technical Educator, Justin Barbirotto. Her prestige and aesthetic was enough to include her in the Cher tribute performance at Taylor Square, otherwise known as Mardi Gras’ dream destination.
For the part of Wella Professionals, their partnership with Mardi Gras was a natural step, speaking to the brand’s emphasis on self-expression, colour and creativity, an ethos Mardi Gras matches in its bold, effervescent parade persona. Wella Professionals’ place in the parade, alongside so many other advocates, supporters and businesses wishing to voice their backing, reiterates that colourful hair, a penchant for glitter and a brand identity built on inclusion and love is at the core of the Wella Professionals business mode.
“The hairdressing industry is one of the most representative of the LGBTQI community, and as part of the COTY family, our mission is to celebrate and liberate the diversity of your beauty,” shared Jerome Toulza, General Manager, Coty Professional Beauty Australia & New Zealand. “Our Wella family is a creative, courageous and inclusive one, so we could not think of a better partnership than with Mardi Gras, and we had a fantastic time celebrating at the 40th anniversary parade on Saturday.”
The message was clear from Wella Professionals, 195 floats, 500,000 attendees and Cher herself – love is love is love. We’ll be turning back time to this memory for quite awhile.
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