This year, Wella Professionals celebrates 15 years of their global hairdressing challenge, the Wella Professionals Trend Vision Awards, and Megan Newell, communications manager, North America Sebastian Professional and Wella’s Hairdressers at Heart, has shared in the excitement of this event for ten years.  Newell recently marked ten years of being part of the Wella Family.

 The International Wella Professionals Trend Vision Awards (ITVA) will take place on Oct. 14 in London. Finalists who took gold in their country will compete live hoping to take home the ultimate global gold medal.

 We asked Newell for a quick snapshot of the competition—its history, meaning, and why hairdressers, everywhere, should explore their creative talents and enter this life-changing contest.

MS: Tell us a bit about the background of the Wella Trend Vision Awards.

MN: It started 15 years ago so we will be celebrating an anniversary in London.  It has always been about seasonal trend direction.  Wella works with trend forecasting experts who share what’s coming in color, fashion, design, and then we translate these predictions for hairdressers.   The competition element of Trend Vision was introduced as a way to invite hairdressers to join us and to make the trends their own.

MS: Wella is a global brand and this is a global challenge.  How do the country and regional competitions operate?

MN:  As part of the competition, each country hosts and manages their own national events.  The winner from that competition goes to the international awards event.

 The U.S. used to do just a photo submission competition and we didn’t have the live component that we have now.  My first day at Wella in 2007, we were picking the finalists for Trend Vision.  I think the judges were Sonya Dove, Christopher Dove and Nick Arrojo and they were reviewing the entries and making their decisions.

 We have grown the competition and, today, it is a much bigger event.  We were inspired by Canada; they would hold small, regional competitions and when Fabio Sementilli joined us, he brought that element to what we were doing here. Fabio made the competition the North American Trend Vision Awards and we included Canada.  We also now include Puerto Rico.

MS: What are the trends from 2017 that were the inspiration for this year’s entries?

MN: The two were Optical Illusion and Past Forward.  Optical Illusion was about ultra-personalization and being a true sculptor in color and shape.   Past Forward is described as styles once worn out of rebellion but are now the norm.  There is a mixing of craftsmanship and quality, highs and lows.

 The 2018 trends will be revealed on the night of the awards in a presentation by our artists.

MS: How have you incorporated some of your other Coty brands?

MN:  We have definitely included OPI nailcare in this year’s event and we will have nail artists on site doing the nails for the stage show presentations. 

MS: How do you select your locations for holding the International Trend Vision Awards?

MN: We’re always heavily influenced by fashion so we select a city known for its style and emphasis on fashion.  We’ve been in Barcelona, New York, Berlin, and this year, we return to London.

MS: How many will be competing in London and who will be selecting the winner?

MN: We have 83 teams which means the hairdresser, their assistant and their model. Of that number, 43 are competing in our Color Vision category and 40 in the Creative Vision. Our judges are specific to the category.

MS: Finally, why would you tell a hairdresser they should enter Trend Vision?

MN:  It ignites creativity and builds a sense of community.  It might seem like it would be rough backstage, a tough environment with all these hairdressers competing, but I see them become inspired by each other’s work, I see them push themselves farther.  Many make lifelong friends. 

Winners receive mentorship from some of the best artists in the country, the chance to work backstage at Fashion Week and to have their work published.  That alone gives incredible confidence.  I truly believe this is a stepping stone and I have seen it change people’s lives. 

ITVA MUST-KNOW DETAILS: 

North American Finalists

 USA

Color Vision: Katie Manselle, Culture Hair Studio, Durham, NC

Creative Vision: Shirley Gordon, Strands Hair Studio, Wheaton, MD

 Canada

Color Vision: John Carreiro, Carriero The Studio, Victoria, BC

Creative Vision: Daniel Grieco, Salon Gaboa, Maple, ON

Puerto Rico

Color Vision: Jose Quinones, Peter Cardon Salon, San Juan, PR

Creative Vision: Gold: Glory Aviles, U Salon, Toa Baja, PR

THE JUDGES:

Color Vision

Andreas Kurkowitz, Wella Professionals Global color Ambassador

Jayson Gray, Wella Professionals Global Creative Artist (UK)         

Michio Nozawa, CEO & Hair producer / Michio Nozawa Hair Salon (Japan)

Annie Humphreys, International Color Icon (UK)                  

Larisa Love, CosmoProf Brand Ambassador & Larisa Love Salon owner (USA)

Creative Vision

Eugene Souleiman, Wella Professionals Global Creative Director and ghd Ambassador

Dmitry Vinokurov, Wella Professionals Global Creative Artist (Russia)

Pavlos  Divataris, Director  ‘BIBA’  Academy and BIBA salons (Australia)

Rosangela Barchetta, Studio Hairdressing chain owner (Brazil)

Nicola Shannon, Professional Hairdresser Editor (UK)

43 Color Vision and 40 Creative Vision Teams

• COLOR VISION Category:

  • – beautiful, wearable, salon relevant look

  • – relevant individual vision/interpretation/creative personalization

• CREATIVE VISION Category:

  • – 2 options: Hair Up or Cut & Styling

  • – influenced by Wella Professionals Seasonal Trends

WATCH:  On October 14th, Wella Professionals International Trend Vision Awards broadcast live from London on the Wella Professional Facebook page www.facebook.com/wellausa

Event begins at 6:30 am PST │ 8:30 am CT │ 9:30 am EST

2:30 pm (BTS)

Hairdressing fans will be able to vote for their favorite finalists in the Color Vision and Creative Vision categories at www.wella.com/vote or using hashtags on their favorite looks posted on Wella Professionals Facebook and Twitter page  (#ColorVision+ Country or #CreativeVision + Country) #creativevisionusa

 Online voting for the People’s Choice Awards will be open from

1:00 am – 7:15 am PST │3:00 am – 9:15 am CT │ 4:00 am – 10:15 EST

9:00 am – 3:15 pm (BTS)