New Zealand's latest Hairdresser of the Year, Sara Allsop, says competitions are great training for young talent.
To be named New Zealand's latest Hairdresser of the Year, Sara Allsop not only had to show the judges at Hair Expo in Sydney last week that she had what it takes, she also had to beat her husband, Jock Robson.
The couple own Mt Eden salon Dharma and both were finalists in the competition to find Schwarzkopf Professional's champion for 2011.
Allsop said she and Robson had been competing against each other for years. "Sometimes he gets through for things and sometimes I do. We both support each other all the time - we have a very different aesthetic."
This time it was Allsop's collection, inspired by Studio 54 and 1970s discotheque glamour fashion and styling, that impressed the judges. Her looks comprised a selection of long hair styling and little boy (page boy) haircuts.
"I would love to see clients getting more solid structured shapes into their haircuts," says Allsop, "even if it's just the fringe areas." For long hair she likes the 70s boho feeling.
Preparing for competition in a two-hairdresser household involves a mix of co-operation and secrecy.
"Because there are two parts (photos and portfolio), we shot the collections together on the same day, one going first and then the other. We do it together as it is cost-effective."
The couple regularly work with Auckland stylist (and the Herald's Canvas fashion editor) Dan Ahwa on their shoots. For Hair Expo they each had to submit six images and then answer questions about their approach to business, helping young talent and how they keep up to date with techniques and fashion styling. Any work published in the last year also had to be submitted.
"The written part of the portfolio we always do very separately as we are mindful that we don't want them to sound similar in any way. This year I didn't get to read Jock's until after they were sent off."
A panel of hairdressers from Australia and New Zealand chose the four finalists, who also included Danny Pato of D&M, Ponsonby, and 2010 winner Mana Dave of Blaze, Newmarket. The finalists' work is reassessed at Hair Expo, with extra input from international judges.
"You really do feel like the whole collection and portfolio have been scrutinised by the worldwide hairdressing industry," says Allsop.
She and Robson have recently gained registration for a hairdressing academy.
"We love having this strand to the business as education is also what motivates me." She relishes working with apprentices from various salons. One of her own, Joshua Angell, was the only New Zealander to make the apprentice section of the Expo finals - the second time a Dharma apprentice has featured.
* For the second year in a row at Expo, Servilles Academy was named education organisation of the year in a section judged from both Australian and New Zealand finalists.
Another New Zealand connection came when Sarah Laidlaw, from Sydney's DLM Management was again named session stylist of the year. Her work, both as a hair stylist and makeup artist, has featured in a number of local publications, including on the cover of Fashion Quarterly and in Remix magazine.
Viva asked Allsop how important competitions (L'Oreal and Wella also sponsor major annual awards) are to keeping the creative juices flowing.
Allsop: "I believe our industry needs competition, I find it a great training tool for young talent and it is a vehicle for maintaining progressiveness for stylists. Our industry changes like fashion, for myself and the team it's our way of staying ahead of what is happening. We are also lucky that we get the opportunities to work at fashion weeks around the world (New York and Sydney) and also in editorial styling for fashion magazines here in NZ, which all adds to the creative output."
The 39-year-old has established a Protege Competition for young hairdressers, which gives six finalists from around New Zealand the chance to work on a photographic shoot, with a top photographer, makeup artists, stylists and models.
"This is a rare opportunity for most young stylists and we are very lucky at Dharma that we get this very regularly throughout the year."
Allsop said that over the three-day Hair Expo the team was so busy working on shows and doing look-and-learn theatres that they didn't get to see a lot of other artists, but most of what they did see confirmed they were heading in the right direction.
"We were asked to put on a show as part of the Generation Next night, which involves young artists preparing the hair for a catwalk show. I wanted this opportunity to reach further than just our team at Dharma so I asked young stylists from Me, Bouy, Bettjemans and Blaze if they would like to work on it. We all worked extremely hard on the day, the end result was beautiful and they were all thrilled to have their opportunity to shine on the night."
Third time lucky
Seven of the 19 finalists in the third of New Zealand's main hair awards, Wella Trend Vision, hail from Auckland. Dunedin has produced five finalists from three salons, with others coming from Nelson, Wellington, Palmerston North, Hastings and Gisborne.
The Wella competition, in August, will produce a colour champion and a young talent winner who will compete in New York.
Auckland finalists for colour are: Danny Pato, D&M Hair Design, Ponsonby; Jock Robson and Lenard Johnston of Dharma, Mt Eden; and Michaela Powell, Blaze, Newmarket. For Young Talent (aged under 30): Kelly Latu and Sara Carswell, both of Blaze, Newmarket and Jason Chong Li, Stephen Marr, Newmarket.
The country's third big annual hair award was decided in April, with Serville's Takapuna stylist Armie Aninion Avillanosa named Hairdresser of the Year in the L'Oreal Colour Trophy competition.
