Capes, Colour, Cuts - Hair Expo 2012 Sunday Recap

By Tammi Ireland

Sydney’s Convention and Exhibition Centre was a swarm of midriff tops, bunt fringes, coloured hair and new heights yesterday as the Australian Hair Expo entered its second day of showcasing the best of hair salons to industry professionals.  Starting at 10am with entry and a quick run through the area and ending with a phenomenal finale at the Next Gen Gala, Coveted Canvas was there to see all of Sunday’s events – and garner some pretty strong inspiration for trends and tricks in hair.

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At 10.10am, my old (and favourite) hair dressers, Head Studio from King Street in Perth, hit the Hair Expo main stage to showcase their solo presentation – Forever Young. The show was all about saying a big ‘F-you’ to conventional, corporate society and having fun with your youth.  There was colour, blunt fringes, hair wraps and hair ladders, used to create looks for editorial shoots that would have those in the know stopping at the image and saying – I want what they’ve got! The elixir of youth? It’s in Head Studio-esque, Forever Young hair.

While live-tweeting the event, it became pretty apparent that ‘fun’ was the word that kept coming to mind during Head Studio’s presentation.  The looks were completely them – colourful, non-permanent, statement, all with a bit of 90s thrown in.  With three demonstrations set up on stage for their Forever Young presentation, first it was up to Matt, Jess and Marie to show what Head Studio could do for their customers.

Marie cut a blunt fringe into her hair model, leading the way for a trend that would continue throughout the day.  Rooney Mara and Chanel’s hair through their latest collection were obvious inspirations to all Australia’s hair dressers, it seemed.  Throughout her demo, Marie mentioned that her aesthetic is all about being androgynous. Give the girls a little toughness and they’ll go far.  Love it. Use it.

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Matt demonstrated his love for sea salt spray and strong lines by cutting in a blunt bob and utilising the spray for a wet-look texture. Strong lines and undone textures were exciting Matt, and so that’s what he showcased.  Our favourite part of the look? A little shaved section on the front of the side temple above the ear.  We love this look, also showcased by Into The Gloss’ Emily Weiss.

On the other side, Jess used her inspiration from Empire and MadMan to create a disheveled, forward-brushed textured male do, ensuring plenty of length at the front to play with.

After the consumer demonstrations, things became more fun (there’s that word again!) when Rachael, Marie and Natalie hit the stage to show their editorial looks.  Rachael used all-natural hair ladders to add volume and length into her model’s natural hair, creating a mermaid look once complete.  It was quite a sight to see with Rachael’s pastel pink hair bobbing behind the model’s pastel purple wavy locks (image, top). A little bit of me was reaching for the bleach.

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Natalie and her assistant Kyra demonstrated Head Studio’s love for the 1990s with corn-row full, pre-done hair wraps, sewn into the natural hair.  Cooler than the Bali tourist look, more modern than the nineties Los Angeles look, I could also see myself rocking these in a hot Australian summer. Funny how I tended toward the editorial looks more than the first consumer ones.  I guess I – like Head Studio – am a long-haired lover at heart.

Last in this part of the presentation, Marie used poker-straight hair ladders to create a long, dead-straight ponytail on her front model. Keeping the look original? Shaved sides of the head.  Again, there’s me reaching for the razors. Loved it all, and could easily see myself rocking any/all of it if I didn’t work a conventional 9-5 job.

Rounding up their presentation, Head Studio showed some pre-done model looks, including a full-bodied hair with heart braid, coloured waves with added volume and – my ultimate favourite – rolled two-toned hair with blue-dyed roots (below).

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See all the photos on Coveted Canvas’ Facebook page.

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A quick whizz around the Hair Expo was next, to see the new products on offer. My top three?

• OSMO Dry Shampoo. A new salon-only brand with a volume-targeted collection within their main range. This Dry Shampoo goes on clear and feels amazing, like nothing at all. I bought three.
• L’Oreal Professionel SteamPod. A salon-only hair tool that straightens and treats hair at the same time. I loved this product and everything it stood for until Brad Ngata said at the Gen Next Gala that hairdressers could now add the service, charge for the service and make a lot more money. A little crass. Still, that’s the type of comments overheard at trade-only events, and I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t try the SteamPod.
• Rae Morris individual makeup brushes.  Previously only sold in a set, these super-soft makeup brushes are available for sale individually, meaning if you only need one brush (make it number 3!), you can save your pennies and buy.  Smart move by Rae Morris and co.

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Stevie English gave a presentation during the Look and Learn series at Hair Expo, sharing his tips for building a brand.  A lot of people were stunned to hear it was all about Social Media, but Stevie made his point damn well.  Having never advertised, Stevie English Hair has grown purely through Stevie and his team’s use of social media – Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and even FourSquare.  The key here is, according to Stevie, to show your personality, tag your customers, be visual and post often.  The more accessible you seem, the more people will come to your salon.  And if someone doesn’t like you on Twitter? Well, they probably won’t come into your salon for a treatment. But that’s okay, because there will be many more people who you do resonate with, who will become return customers.  Key point.

The Gen Next Gala was an amazing, amazing evening, with theatrics, huge hair and big personalities. Three shows in particular stood out from the rest – the first ‘Garbo to Gaga’, the L’Oreal iD artists’ collection, and the finale by Redken’s director Chris Baran, who gave what was definitely the star performance of the day.  A hot-pink deer head made of hair, a breakdancing troupe (inc. child dancer), the Rockettes and graffiti hair all inspired by modern New York City gave way to the amazing part of his show – velcro hair. Bringing a girl out in symmetrical dress with pre-weave hair and an assistant holding a strip of blonde 4-inch hair cut-offs, no one knew what he was to do with the strip until… in time with the music, Baran tore off a section of the blonde and literally threw it at the girl’s head, where it stood straight up, seemingly held on by velcro.  WHAT!? Amazing!  He proceeded to do this with the whole strip of hair, with the finished look an amazing bleached-blonde short cut. *Mind Blown*

Unfortunately, as luck would have it, my phone camera died just as the Gen Next Gala was kicking off, so there are no pics for now. However, head back soon as we’ll grab the pics off our friend Shitika from iNSTYLE Hair Magazine.

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Until next year…

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