The 2019 Goldwell Color Zoom Challenge will take place this Sept 28-30 in Vienna, Austria. The overall event, called Global Zoom, will be held over three days and includes a variety of educational events surrounding the main event – the competition. More than 90 competitors from 38 nations have been prepping all summer with the goal to “bring home the gold” to their respective countries.

The three National Gold Finalists from the United States have been in “training” and working with their models to make sure they have the best chance possible. MODERN stopped by the KAO/Goldwell Salon Academy in NYC to meet with Creative Artist, Sarajane Maples of Studio Sage (Jacksonville Beach, FL); New Talent Artist, Alicia Perez of The Hair Company (Nashua, NH); and Partner Artist, Kylie Bussing of The Hair Company (Nashua, NH) as they worked on mannequin heads and got some tips from previous winners and Goldwell trainers. All were there to learn how to recreate their winning image in the three hours they are given during the live part of the competition.

Each artist was asked to chat about something special about her entry, and each found interesting and unique about her Color Zoom experience. For Alicia Perez, her greatest challenge was finding a model, but she found a great way to find the perfect lady. For Sarajane Maples, it’s all about the details and photography. For Kylie Bussing (who admits she “pushes the boundaries”) helping her model maintain her hair during the life of the competition is challenging but vital. “To make it wearable, I have to put in some elbow grease to decolorize.”

In this video, meet the competitors, see the entry and learn more about the special element to each photo:

Kao Salon Academy Manager, Lisa Kennedy, presents each National Gold Finalist with her award: