I know I usually write about hair extensions, but I wanted to change it up and share with you an exciting experience I am a part of right now: Wella's Trend Vision.

I think most of us in the hair industry at one time or another have heard about Wella Trend Vision. If you haven’t heard what it is, it is a great way to showcase your creativity in color, cut and style. The inspiration for your work comes from Wella's Trends for Spring/Summer 2015 and Autumn/Winter 2015.

This year, Wella offered two different trends: Age of Enlightenment for Spring/Summer 2015 and Uncharted Territories for Autumn/Winter 2015. Though the trends are very different from each other they also complement each other in many ways.

The Age of Enlightenment was about color looking distilled, that represented living beauty in DNA. Uncharted Territories was about raw nature, marble earth tones and spice for the color. The hair is pulled away from the face in braids opening up to untamed hair with lots of texture.

The trend I picked was Uncharted Territories. It was a pretty easy decision to make because I knew which model I wanted to use. I  knew I wanted her to look like she was living in nature; a warrior. Picking the perfect model for the trend can make or break the chances of being selected.

Each year, the company I work for (Mario Tricoci) goes above and beyond to make entering the competition a fun experience. Our creative directors and management team Larry Silvestri, Anthony Muti, Jennifer Doljanin, Nelida D’Alessandro, Judy Johnson and John Gialluisi help us get ready for Wella's Trend Vision. First, they have us create a team (a colorist and stylist) that work together. Our entries are then judged through our own Wella Trend Vision through Mario in March. 

In January, they have each team meet in one large group to brainstorm the trends in more detail. Each team has about a month to figure out their trend, model, and total look for their trend. In February, they have each team meet for a photoshoot with a photographer they have selected for us. Then, they give us 10 photos to select from and our final photo is entered into Wella's Competition. In March, they put on a big hair show called “The Big Event” for the whole company and have their own Wella Trend Vision competition to help prepare us for the big Competition.  

When submitting to Wella Trend Vision there are thee categories: Student, Young Talent (under 30 years old) and Color. For me, it was the last year I could submit under Young Talent so I really wanted to put my all into my idea. Once my photo was submitted to Wella in May, I had to sit and wait to find out if I would get picked as a semi-finalist. On May 27^th while I was working, I got a call from John Gialluisi, one of the creative directors, calling to congratulate me on making it to the semi-finals. I could not believe it, it was such amazing news. I think that day at work I told everyone I could about the great news. Twenty-five people were picked in each category. That number will be narrowed down to seven finalists in each category who will be invited to compete in the National Competition in July in Las Vegas. Once the winner is decided for Nationals, they will move on to the International competition.

I will be on pins and needles until the finalists are announced. While I am hopeful I am selected as a finalist, I have to tell you that just being a semi-finalist was an amazing experience.

Before

After