We were privileged to sit with four superlative names in hair – past L’Oréal Professionnel Style and Colour Trophy winners from across Australia and New Zealand – to gain heartfelt insight into how competing on a global stage in a platform like style and colour trophy has changed their life and businesses, writes Cameron Pine.

With the theme Metamorphosis for 2023, L’Oréal Professionnel is calling on all Australian and New Zealand hair professionals to challenge the norm and create something truly disruptive for 2023. With the addition of the award for newcomer in 2023, Style and Colour Trophy has evolved with the changing face of the industry to encourage exploration and a new realm of possibilities with hair.

One of the most powerful things resonating from every single Style and Colour Trophy winner in this incredible talent pool is their ability to connect and be inspired by people from every side of the world. With the energy and enthusiasm shared, the emotional stories and all the experience leading up to the next big night for Style and Colour Trophy on August 6 – these experts prove time and time again that a competition platform like Style and Colour Trophy is the backbone of our industry.

Exceeding our expectations year on year, Australia has always had big shoes to fill with the last three consecutive global titles under our belts.

As far back as 1954 globally, the competition was developed to recognise and profile the exemplary talent in professional salons – a name that has become an institutional influence on the global hairdressing landscape. We spoke to recent international winners Wendy Gunn of Ink for Hair, Massimo Tirimacco of Zohair and Claudia Cataldo of Cataldos, as well as recent finalist Kelly Manu of Una, in a round table dedicated to the power of this competition.

MASSIMO TIRIMACCO

“I was 17 years old when I first entered L’Oréal Style and Colour Trophy and it has been part of my career for the entire journey since I started hair. It’s driven me and my team to be better – winning once was big but twice drives you even further.

The competition is probably one of the pinnacle moments of my life as a hairdresser – I have been a finalist probably nine or ten times and it pushes you to never stop what you love. Winning in 2019 was big but then winning twice again in 2020 was a huge achievement for me.

I wasn’t able to travel overseas both years and compete because of COVID but I still swear black and blue that it has been an amazing thing for me and my business.”

KELLY MANU

Being New Zealand-based Kelly entered for the first time in 2021 and became a National Finalist. While she was also not able to attend the live event because of COVID she entered for a second time in 2022 and managed to go to Paris to score third place overall in the international competition.

“I love the new theme for 2023 as it’s a really different direction to where we have gone in the past with the classic Style and Colour Trophy aesthetic. I think it definitely shows us where the industry is going and the digital age we’re going through – with social media platforms such as TikTok, people are now pushing the boundaries more so this theme really speaks to that. I think it’s great to push the boundaries but also bring it back and keep the spirit of it being really beautiful.”

CLAUDIA CATALDO

Having entered many times from back when she was an apprentice hairdresser in the early 2000s, before her big international win in 2022, Claudia cites how the competition really began her career and built her independence as a hairdresser in a family business with many other known and capable hairdressers.

“I’ve always watched my cousins and family be part of it, so it’s been a huge part of my career to see how the platform pushes us as artists and gives us opportunities to learn from other hairdressers at a much greater level.

When the competition came back to Australia after a bit of a hiatus I was a finalist a couple of times, and I gave it a break after receiving these awards but last year was my first year back into it. The wonderful experience of representing Australia in the global award is something that has had a huge impact on me and how I continue to be inspired every day. It’s been amazing to have the people behind me to show us that Australia could do as well as the rest of the world.”

WENDY GUNN

“I first started working with Style and Colour Trophy from the very beginning in Australia, which goes back multiple decades – it has always been a big part of my salon and team. The most exciting thing was, that after entering a few times and not getting an award, our team grew and our salon began to take out sometimes up to three to five awards in one year and clean it up – until they changed the rules so we couldn’t clean up anymore.”

Wendy won the French Award in 2019, which she still cites as one of her greatest achievements that has made her really proud to continue to be part of a big competition that makes you feel like a star on the global stage.

“Mostly it’s great to be around others like all of you here and to be profiled in such a significant way including in marie claire magazine. I had clients come from Sydney and all around who came to see me from exposure that we could never have afforded as a salon. I’ve always aspired to win Style and Colour Trophy – to go to Paris and be one of the first Australians to take the international award was the most amazing part of my life. The platform has really changed now, it’s much more social and Instagram based, but the media exposure we received with winning the competition was something we could never afford. It changed my business.”

METAMORPHOSIS

“At first I was confused – Style and Colour Trophy has always been very traditional. I don’t do things to impress people, I do things to build my business and my clients. However, the more I looked into it, the more I understood that the meaning of metamorphosis is transformation and, as hairdressers, that’s who we are. It’s exciting to motivate – to challenge and develop the art of hairdressing – whether it be Avant Garde or not, hair always needs to be beautiful. With the meaning of transformation, hopefully people will look at the art or craft that’s behind doing hair because a lot of it is lost and ignored. I think this is maybe going to lift the bar and challenge people,” Wendy said.

“It’s a very different direction to the past, but with the TikTok generation and how we look at hair, it’s exciting to see a theme that really engages where the younger generation is at – it really does lend hairdressers more power to transform in 2023,” Kelly said.

“There are so many elements coming together with Metamorphosis and so it’s making us as hairdressers really think and explore our creativity that drives us,” Massimo said.

INSPIRING THE TEAM

“Style and Colour Trophy shows other stylists that you can be successful and take it globally – especially being here in New Zealand, it shows that we too can be on the global stage. With the process as a whole you all become family when you travel and compete alongside other hairdressers. You lean on each other. You have that time you bond massively and feel like you’ve known each other forever – it’s the most powerful experience of our entire life,” Kelly said.

“Throughout the years we were on TV with exposure from Style and Colour Trophy – clients were so excited to see that. You learn a different mindset and it’s a completely different way to express yourself. The whole way through with looking at styling, the model and the total look. Nobody does it better than L’Oréal. The pamphlet of all the looks was a great way to get excited and share that in the salon. It was definitely a driving point for consumers to get excited about hair and new trends and show that we are powerful by creating those looks,” Claudia said.

“I’ve changed my business model and, after having breast cancer and a reconstruction, my focus at the moment is all family. I’m very proud to have third generation family in my salon. Having my daughter Kate and my granddaughter working with me means I’ve won and can’t do any better but, for me, it will always be something I love to motivate me and my clients and my team – it’s a huge part of my journey and they’re excited we are up with the latest and creating,” Wendy said.

INSPIRING CLIENTS “Growing the new clientele has a huge impact from L’Oréal Style and Colour Trophy. Even if I’m consulting with the clients on colour – it’s great to get the whole team growing. This award excites the team and engages the team to transform clients to the next level. Transformation, as Wendy was saying, is the next thing we need to adjust and adopt – we need to adapt with concepts like AI, still think outside the box, evolve and change and see what comes of it,” Claudia said.

“I’ve had to hire three more staff and have more than double the clients in my salon because of the award. Before that I was largely on my own for a few years but now it has grown my clientele incredibly,” Kelly said.

“There is such a flip between where I was in 2019 – the transition is to be constantly moving forward and seeing where you can go next. I went from just two staff in 2019 to now nine staff. Style and Colour Trophy has so much to do with that. It’s the growth together – it’s not just how you win at the time,” Massimo said.

“At the moment I’m having difficulty taking on new clients. I have to explain to clients if you don’t book you won’t get in before Christmas – it sounds like arrogance but once you win an award people think you’re a magician and it’s also about managing that. A lot of clients come with unrealistic expectations. They don’t just show a picture anymore, they show you a phone with ten images and they want to be all of those. The platform has allowed me to have very straight conversations. We have confidence to explain it may take several visits and will cost you a certain amount of money. I want to be paid for what I do but won’t be beaten down anymore. A lot of people want you to do their hair but don’t want to pay the price. Style and Colour Trophy helps profile the industry as more professional – they can trust our expertise. Something that really excited me today about Style and Colour Trophy is the newcomer award, because we need to inspire more in the industry not to lose their creativity,” Wendy said.

OPPORTUNITIES

“To compete in Style and Colour Trophy, we are like athletes. We have been training ourselves for years. You have to be mentally tough, positive and resilient to win,” Wendy said.

“It has propelled me to the next stage and made me think about what I want to do for the future. It’s pushed me out of my comfort zone – I’ve always had great support from the family business from the get-go, but I really wanted to make my own path and it also gave me the confidence to not just enter, but after a few attempts boosted me to become a member of FAME team. It helps me think about what’s next in the journey and helped me go into this different journey and path for me. I am excited about talking to new students at the Canberra Institute of Technology about different attitudes and different pathways you can take in hairdressing, and how many great opportunities there are if we work hard and take the time. I want to show others where it can take us if we are passionate,” Claudia said.

“I entered a lot of competitions as an apprentice and one year after entering everything I won nothing and said I’d never enter again, but Style and Colour Trophy was something I knew I wanted to enter and something I’ve respected – it’s opened me to other things and allowed more people to work with me,” Kelly said.

“Having the opportunity to do online education for L’Oréal Access and to share such a new platform of education, growing the stylists around me and reminding everyone how privileged we are to have such great access to education has been another positive step. It’s a privilege to be on stage and showcase the power of what we do,” Claudia said.

ADVICE TO YOUR YOUNGER SELF

“You have to work on your mind and build your resilience. You have to do mood boards and manifestation boards, which is what I do now in life. That helped me win – everyone else needs to do it. I can do anything that I really set my mind to. I don’t have to be stopped by the limitations my mind puts onto me. I did a wedding last weekend – I didn’t just do the hair. I did the flowers as well. I’m talking about flowers like I’m talking about hair – my clients love it. These kinds of things wouldn’t happen if I didn’t win the competition and travel across to Europe – you don’t know what you are going to get out of it. You have to be open to it,” Wendy said.

“Hairdressing has no age or number. For Style and Colour Trophy you just go in and it doesn’t matter what everyone else is doing. Time moves on and you have to move forward and let it go – constantly train the winning mindset,” Massimo said.

“You just have to focus on the beauty before the business and whatever it brings you. I just focus on what I love and creating something, not following something. I’m inspired by things everyday. It’s like climbing a mountain at times, it can be exhausting and exhilarating. It’s what you do along the way – each time you enter a competition you have to be honest, look at yourself and keep challenging yourself,” Wendy said.

“Clients love to come on the journey with you and love the whole process. Creating the buzz of what ignites you also inspires them and encourages conversations about where colour is going and that we are at the forefront. I was the first person to shoot at two in the morning and Kelly was doing it at ten to five in the morning – we have to put it on and be on the ball. You need to be focused. It’s not an easy feat,” Claudia said.

“I’ve had at least 30 clients bring in my winning image. If I wanted to grow clientele when I was younger, Style and Colour Trophy would have been the best way to do it,” Kelly said.

ADVICE TO ENTRANTS

“For me you have to find the face- you have to find your Mona Lisa. The face is everything and the hair comes from there. I think that when you do hair, not enough hair colourists and stylists look at the face. Everyday we go to work it’s about the face. The healthy shiny hair comes after,” Wendy said.

“Stick to the brief and don’t overcomplicate it. I look back at some entries I’d done – trust your eyes and your instinct. Stay calm – you’re in a flow state – that’s when you do your best work. Knowing swatching colours and knowing what complements what, knowing colours and evolving your work to constantly make yours unique is imperative,” Claudia said.

“Timing is going to be very important this year – doing a transformational look for 2023 you are going to be on a time limit and it’s important not to overcomplicate it. Keep it really impactful but still really achievable, and back yourself,” Kelly said.

Register for Style and Colour Trophy 2023 at https://styleandcolourtrophy.lorealprofessionnel.com/country/aus-nz

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