For this competition, stylists had to enter photos of their hairstyles for curated categories.
Hamilton entered two images in the NZHA Next Generation Editorial Stylist Category, which is open to anyone who has been hairdressing fulltime for less than four years.
The brief was to create an Editorial Hair image that would be seen on the cover of a magazine.
Bird entered three categories as a senior NZHA Editorial Stylist. She entered the Cover Shot category, the NZHA Derek Elvy Visionary Award, where she had to create a fashion-forward/avant-garde editorial image, and entered the NZHA Editorial Stylist Collection. There had to be three photos that created a cohesive storyline but were each unique.
The two stylists have been working hard in the background to get their looks competition-ready.
Leading up to the photo shoot, Hamilton practised on her model and perfected her goals and approach. Bird spent hours making hairpieces to incorporate with her model’s hair on the day.
In July, the pair did their photo shoot using Jason at Zerolight Photography. Bird said she has worked with him for a few years now and feels her images get stronger and stronger every year.
All clothes styling was done by the hairstylists, and the makeup was done by Marble Fox.
The finalists were announced in the first week of September. Hamilton is a finalist for both of her images, and Bird is a finalist with five images: three Editorial Stylist Cover Shots, one Derek Elvy, and one Collection.
When the two women found out they had made the finals, Bird said, “screamed and jumped up and down”.
Hamilton’s reaction wasn’t as over the top, but both stylists were very shocked and honoured and took a little time to believe it was real.
The winners will be announced in Christchurch on November 3 at the Awards Gala evening, which the Mphosis team will be attending.
When asked how they were feeling about attending the finals, Hamilton said she has been “too busy planning what to wear to really think about it at the moment”.
Bird added, “I love going to the awards evening and catching up with the many hairdressing friends I’ve met over the years; it is even more exciting now that I am a finalist.
“We will both get more nervous when it gets closer; it still seems so far away, and we are still living on the high of being finalists.”
To keep up to date with the New Zealand Hairdressing Creative Awards and check out the Hastings hairstylists’ entries, visit the New Zealand Hair Awards website: https://www.newzealandhairawards.org.nz/creativeawards.
Maddisyn Jeffares became the editor of the Hawke’s Bay community papers Hastings Leader and Napier Courier in 2023 after writing at the Hastings Leader for almost a year. She has been a reporter with NZME for almost three years and has a strong focus on what’s going on in communities, good and bad, big and small. Email news tips to her at: maddisyn.jeffares@nzme.co.nz