In a chat with beautydirectory, it was revealed by the bdTV: Julia Erben, Hair Expo Australia that this year’s Hair Expo would be the biggest one we’ve seen”. After all the hype, we’re pleased to say we weren’t disappointed. This year, focus was placed heavily on colour and new products, but even more so on education.
Why the brands took part
Not surprisingly, most brands attending Hair Expo were aiming to build their client relations, educate hairstylists about their products, plus introduce industry workers to their creative teams.
For Grant Norton, ’s creative director for Australia and New Zealand, having the brand’s founder Anthony Moscolo and the international creative team in attendance was a highlight of the weekend. They’re only visiting a few countries this year – Italy, the US and Australia, so we’re very proud to have them here.”
TIGI’s managing director for Australia and New Zealand Mark Thompson agrees: We’ve brought Anthony and the entire creative team out from London. They’re out prepping in the back [for the show Sunday night] as we speak. For anyone who hasn’t seen Anthony before, this is going to be an amazing event.”
For other global brands, Hair Expo was more about building relationships. Kelly Conroy, national education manager for Redken explains, We’re meeting new and existing clients and interacting with the salon community to see not only what we’re putting out but what other hairdresser are putting out and looking after as well to gain feedback so that we’re able to go back and work out our plan for next year.”
What they showcased
There’s no key area of creativity we’re focusing on,” explains Rita Marcon, global education director for Goldwell Professional and KMS Australia. We’re more so looking at technique and core skills. We’re trying to bring professional hairdressing back down to its grass roots again … whether it be about cutting, styling or colouring hair, we’re focusing on the professional aspect of hairdressing, and inviting clients back into the salon.”
Other companies were demonstrating new innovations to take place within their product range. Redken product manager Ashleigh Duzenman said they wanted to show salons that Redken is one of the most fashion-forward, edgy brands on the market, plus show off the artistic talent of the brand. The biggest focus for us at the moment is Redken colour. We want to take everyone on a journey of how fantastic Redken colour is and all the amazing results that you can create on any type of hair.”
Thompson says TIGI was there to show off the latest in their collections. A lot of people would have seen TIGI evolve – most people remember Bed Head and Catwalk – but we’ve re-launched basically all of our key brands, so it’s a great opportunity to showcase them to everyone.”
Original & Mineral debuted Liquid CCT Colours to Australian salons for the first time. The brand's creative director Janelle Chaplin also oversaw Original & Mineral's directional show, which displayed four on-trend hairstyles. The looks included edgy black bobs, dramatic dip-dyed hair colour, futurstic up-styles in shades of gray and redheads that Chaplin described as "Ginger Dolls".
Hair trends for the next year
Finishing
As usual, hair expo was abuzz with predictions of the latest catwalk looks that we’ll soon see walking out of our local salons. Redken education artistic director Sam Villa explained that consumers would define upcoming trends in their desire eco-luxury”, that is, they want maximum results with minimum input.”
Villa emphasised that hair is currently all about multi-textured finishing working together. He even coined the term glunge” to sum up the look, referring to the mix between glamour and grunge. Villa describes how Nirvana and people such as Courtney Love initiated the grunge, but has given way to glamour in the past seven years or so. Glunge is different to grunge in that glunge is a little more placed – there’s something done with it. So it’s not a matter of just getting up and walking out. It’s more about fixing it up slightly and placing it.”
For the guys, Villa says that we’ll start seeing a bit more length, including what he labeled a mullet” (pronounced moo-lay). It’s a different type of mullet, meaning it’s softer. You don’t see so much length in the back – it’s a bit softer.” Villa attributes it to the faux-hawks initiated by Rihanna, that people are going to start growing out via the mullet”.
Eras
Sassoon international creative director Mark Hayes said the brand looked to various street looks and tribes for upcoming trends, as well as different eras. Hayes showcased a look that referenced Deborah Harry’s 1970s long bob with a fringe and lots of layers cut into the back.
Erben said she’s noticed several things coming out over the weekend, including styles from different eras, as well as stylists’ having more fun with the hair. What I’m seeing at the moment is a lots of ‘70s and some ‘60s-inspired hair. There are also bits from Mad Men – it’s all about sexy, beautiful hair this year.”
Colour
Villa revealed that when it comes to colour, we’re going to start seeing are different hues of red. Different types of reds are going to come through. Soft reds, vibrant reds – you’ll start to see more of that. There will be blondes, but they’ll be more of a pastel shade.”
The benefits for salons
Many of the brands at Hair Expo were placing a big emphasis on education this year, meaning big benefits for salon owners and staff who attended.
’s international creative director Antonio Corral Calero was enjoying his fourth consecutive year at Hair Expo. He explained that his aim for the weekend was to teach people more about the product range, as well as the philosophy behind the brand. People are here to learn things,” he said. What they can learn from Moroccanoil is not just that it’s a great line of products, but we also have a unique type of hairstyle. We have models walking around with a very simple, glamorous looks. That’s what we’re about – creating glamour, but keeping it simple.”
Marketing manager for Bianca Panozzo said their stand was showcasing a number of educational demonstrations. We’re really creating an interactive space so that we can get closer to brands, they can see what we’re doing in the marketplace, check out new products and really just have a good time with our team.”