In celebration of their 135^th anniversary, Wella held their highly anticipated International TrendVision Awards in Berlin and acknowledged some of their longest standing partners.

A fitting tribute in the year of their 135^th anniversary, Wella returned home to Germany for this year’s Wella TrendVision extravaganza – the highlight of the hairdressing calendar. The event, which took place in Berlin on Sunday, November 22^nd, attracted over 1,400 hairdressers from all around the world.

Opening the show at Berlin’s impressive STATION-Berlin – a building steeped in history and one of the most extraordinary locations in Europe – Wella Executive Vice President, Sylvie Moreau, paid homage to Wella’s rich heritage and dedication to the future of our industry:

“As we celebrate our 135 years of rich heritage and groundbreaking innovation, we are looking forward to our exciting future. In the Wella Family we are dedicated to nurturing millions of talented and passionate hairdressers around the world and this is why we are here today,” says Moreau.

The Future of Hairdressing

This year, 69 competitors travelled to Berlin from 37 countries – all winners from the local National TrendVision Awards, chosen to represent their countries out of 5,000 applicants. They each prepared a creative masterpiece to showcase their skills in their specific field: Young Talent or Color Vision.

Each category included four awards – the Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze awards – and also recognized the ‘People’s Choice’, an additional honor bestowed on the finalist receiving the most votes from the LIVE online audience. The online audience watched the competition from all around the world, with an incredible 25,000 votes received in the People’s Choice awards.

The Young Talent category was judged by a panel of experts including Wella Professionals Global Creative Director for Care and Styling, Eugene Souleiman. The finalists in this category were challenged to create their own editorial interpretation of one of Wella’s 2015 trends, SS15’s Distilled collection or AW15’s Uncharted Territories, originally revealed at last year’s TrendVision event. The deserved winners in this category were:

YOUNG TALENT WINNERS:

Platinum: Anastasia Krupovich, Kirpimo Meistrai, Lithuania: “This is such an honor! It took so long to create this style but it is all worthwhile. This is probably the seventh or eighth version of the look, it had to be perfect so I looked at a lot of natural forms until I found one I loved and that’s why I created this mossy style with lots and lots of hairspray. I don’t think it’s sunk in yet...I will take my trophy to bed with me tonight and in the morning I will know it’s real!”

Gold: Mikaela Edwards, Runway, New Zealand

Silver: Zoe Huang, Zoom Hairdressing, Taiwan

Bronze: Sonya Rättö, Prof Tampere, Finland

People’s Choice: Calogero Castellana, Mimì Hair Fashion, Italy

COLOR WINNERS:

Platinum: Craig Clark, HOB Salons, United Kingdom: “I’m overwhelmed and speechless! This is such an incredible night! I took an organic approach when I was looking for inspiration – looking at the fluidity of natural beauty, the colors in feathers and minerals. One of my main inspirations was a blue lace crystal and I wanted to show the crystallization of the color tones in her hair.”

Gold: Patcharee Apirom, MOGA, Thailand

Silver: Guiping Zhang, Tiffany Salon, China

Bronze:James Fang, Headline, Taiwan

People’s Choice: Alina Iulia Calin, AYO Salon, Romania

Wella Life Achievement and Family Awards:

The ITVAs weren’t the only honors bestowed at this year’s TrendVision. In its 135^th year, Wella also recognized just a few of the dedicated professionals who have helped elevate the hairdressing industry around the world.

One such award went to Eva Graham, Founder of NIOXIN who was honored with the Wella Life Achievement Award. Eva Graham started what’s today a globally leading brand back in 1987 and since then, under Eva’s visionary guidance, NIOXIN has not only broken the social taboos by speaking up about the issue of thinning hair, but has pioneered a new professional hair category. She attributes her success to understanding the importance of entrepreneurship and education, having courage to pursue your dream and the unwavering support of her family.

Family Awards Honorees:

Dolores Kondrashova, President of the Russian Hairdressing Union.

Jesus de la Calle from Spain, a partner of Wella since 1979 who now has ten salons in Spain.

Inger Ellen Nicolaisen of Raise salons – a successful chain of 130 salons and seven schools across Norway and Sweden.

Walter Cabral from Brazil, in honor of his 35 year partnership with Wella.

Paul and Marie Gaglioti. The unstoppable force behind the Dieci Lifestyle Spa and Dieci Uomo salon, Paul and Marie have broken new ground in defining eco-friendly, sustainable salon design and service.

Yoshinori Shima was recognized for his work developing young talent in Japan and his forward thinking ‘hair fashion’ trend leadership in the industry.

Michael Gerrard from England as he enters semi-retirement after a 44 year partnership with Wella.

Gennadios Palas from Palas of Hair and Beauty in Cyprus was recognized for his enduring dedication to the industry and ethos of reinvention and education.

Klaus Peter Ochs is a world championship hairdresser, creative visionary and global President of the world’s largest hairdressing association, Intercoiffure Mondiale, a role that he has held for fifteen years.