Monday June 13, saw Australia’s leading creatives joining together at International Convention Centre, Sydney for the annual Australian Hair Industry Awards Creative 2022 gala awards evening to honour their peers.
Coming off the back of a difficult few years for salons around the country due to the impact of COVID, this was a chance to celebrate one another in person as the industry looks ahead to exciting times.
Launched in 2012 by esteemed trade visionaries Mocha Publishing, the AHIA’s is celebrating its 10th year as the trusted national award platform which provides a benchmark of excellence across both specialist and individual Educational and Business categories and the second year that the Creative categories have been given their own awards program.
The event was held as part of the inaugural HAIR FESTIVAL over the Queen’s Birthday long weekend, an exciting new initiative which maintains the legacy of the industry’s much loved and most celebrated hair event, Hair Expo, which was sadly cancelled in 2020.
The evening saw 800 of the most talented hairdressers and their salon teams watching on as the awards were announced with the gala night MC’d by creative director, host and media personality, Adam Williams who produced two epic runway shows featuring 33 models and dancers in an explosive fashion spectacle.
"After launching the Creative AHIA’s last year, we were thrilled at the overwhelming industry response and the huge amount of entries," said owner and publisher, Linda Woodhead.
"These very special awards continue to highlight the quality of the industry’s editorial and trend focused skills and have allowed our entrants to show their clients and communities just how talented they are. The quality of the Australian hair industry is clearly evident here and every finalist and winner should be incredibly proud of their work."
AHIA’s Creative partnered with the best names and brands in the industry to bring the evening together including brand partners O&M, Revlon Professional, ghd, Excellent Edges and Amazing Hair.
The awards were judged by a phenomenal group of esteemed international and local experts enlisted to hone in on the impressive entries with business, media and industry icons including Angelo Seminara, Errol Douglas, Sally and Jamie Brooks, Sam McKnight, Charlotte Grant-West of HJI, Sergi Bancells of Esthetica, Cameron Pine of Instyle, Louise May of HAIR BIZ and Christina Butcher of Hair Romance.
The evening also saw announcement of the much-anticipated HOTSHOTS team for 2022, putting a spotlight on the industry’s most exciting next-gen talent and providing the chance for these 31 and under superstars to take their career to a whole new level.
This crew were judged by familiar faces including Dee Parker-Attwood, Jayne Wild, Benni Tognini, Stevie English, Sharon Blain and Brad Ngata.
The winners of the Australian Hair Industry Awards for 2022 are as follows:
APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR
Ella Stewart- Stevie English Hair
AVANT GARDE HAIRDRESSER OF THE YEAR
Chung-Yang Su- Su-Atelier
BEST COLLAB OF THE YEAR
Stevie and Bernie (Stevie English and Bernadette Beswick)
COLOUR EXPERT OF THE YEAR
Stevie English- Stevie English Hair
CREATIVE TEAM OF THE YEAR
Jack Horton Hair
INDEPENDENT STYLIST OF THE YEAR
Carolyn Gahan - Carolyn Jayun for ‘Joico’
INTERNATIONAL HAIRDRESSER OF THE YEAR
Errol Douglas - Errol Douglas, UK
MASTER CUTTER OF THE YEAR
Shae Tsiknaris - Tsiknaris Hair
MEN'S HAIR SPECIALIST OF THE YEAR
France Khamees - By France
THE DENNIS LANGFORD HALL OF GAME
Dario Cotroneo
NEW CREATIVE TALENT OF THE YEAR
Elle Coco - Jack Horton Hair
NEW ZEALAND HAIRDRESSER OF THE YEAR
Danny Pato - D&M Hair Design
NSW/ACT HAIRDRESSER OF THE YEAR
Nathan Yazbek - Salon Yazbek
QLD HAIRDRESSER OF THE YEAR
Bill Tsiknaris - Tsiknaris Hair
SA/TAS HAIRDRESSER OF THE YEAR
Lisa Robertson - Pipsqueek in Saigon
VIC HAIRDRESSER OF THE YEAR
Bernadette Beswick - Beswick Education Services
WA/NT HAIRDRESSER OF THE YEAR
Stephanie Bellairs - Cabello by Stephanie Bellairs
PEOPLE’S CHOICE PHOTOGRAPHIC COLLECTION OF THE YEAR
Paul James Graham- Paul & Paul Salon
AUSTRALIAN HAIRDRESSER OF THE YEAR
Dee Parker Attwood - Wieselmann Salon
For further information please contact Kristy at Lily Blue Communications: kristy@lilyblue.com.au.
