Manuel Rodriguez of Pivot Point created a variety of looks for America's Latin Beauty Congress.

THE EVENT: America's Beauty Show (formerly the Chicago Midwest Beauty Show). THE VENUE: The lakefront's new McCormick Place, Chicago. THE DETAILS: A world-class event boosted by the international contingent that arrived to observe and participate in the OMC Hairdressing Championships which were held concurrently with ABS. This was only the fourth time the championships have been held in the United States and the show's move to downtown Chicago gave attendees a first-rate introduction to the host city. More than 20 countries were represented as teams presented their work in the competition area of the ABS exhibit floor. The awards presented on the final night of the show bestowed the Gold on the Ladies' team from Germany and the Men's team from Japan.

Alterna's Michael Shaun Corby creates a soft, sensual look on the Runway.

Among the events ... Future Vision '08, the annual extravaganza of style trends, fashion, music and video presented by Wella, Sebastian, Graham Webb and ABS, was actually five separate shows. The Sassoon Academy of London, led by International Creative Director Mark Hayes, presented the team's latest collection "Gilded Youth." Intercoiffure Mondial President Klaus Peter Ochs presented his "Fashion Diamonds" collection against video images from Casablanca. Hugo Moser and Hair Brasil transported the audience to Rio de Janerio with music and looks. Master stylist and popular television personality Nick Arrojo  presented cuts, color and styles, while Christopher and Sonya Dove provided the stellar finale. Adding to the star quality of the evening were surprise performances by Grammy winner Jennifer Holliday and American Idol finalist Kimberly Locke.

American Crew's Opening Night, introduced the "Matic" trend collection of men's hair styles, which featured clothing from designer Duckie Brown.

The Runway was fashion central at ABS. This area of the show floor featured an on-going line-up of headliners, including Tim Hartley, Nick Arrojo, Oscar and Wendy Bond, and Yves Durif in sold-out appearances.

America's Latino Beauty Congress, presented by Cosmetologos Latinos, featured two days of demos and Spanish language classes from a line-up of artists including Paul Vega for Wella, Raul Martinez for JPMS, Jorge Morales for Matrix, Manuel Rodriguez for Pivot Point, Jose Irizarry for P&G Professional, Aracely Valdez for Babyliss, Marco Ortiz for Avlon and George Gomez for Andis.  

African American Hair 2008 offered pointers on business growth and client retention by Jacqueline Tarrant and techniques for combining stunning color and relaxed hair in the latest celeb-inspired styles by James Adams.

Students left The School Assembly armed with great products, DVDs and loads of inspiration for their future careers from industry notables Robert Cromeans, Angus Mitchell, Scott Cole and Pivot Point's Yolly Ten Koppel.

Sexy Hair founder Michael O'Rourke styles American Idol finalist and Sexy Hair spokesperson Katharine McPhee on stage at ABS.

Nail techs found a wealth of education, products, new techniques and fashion trends at the 2008 International Nail Technicians Conference and, this year, ABS also included America's Expo For Skin Care & Spa giving estheticians hands-on classes, lectures and demonstrations by industry leaders including Rebecca James Gadberry, Peter Pugliese and Lydia Sarfati.

Going green is a red-hot topic and ABS introduced its first Salon Sustainability Summit to help salon owners improve sustainability on all levels and improve their environmental impact. Speakers included Davide Bollati of Davines, Mary Beth Janssen of The Janssen Source, David Raccuglia, founder of American Crew, Eric Fisher of Aquage, Kristin Chou of Etopa Salon Design and Frederic Holzberger of Aveda Fredric's Institute.

THE BUZZ: Manufacturers reported selling out of products, class rooms were filled to capacity, attendees mobbed the OMC competition area and the special event shows were sell outs-all successes that exceeded even the high expectations of Cosmetologists Chicago, the owners and producers of ABS. CC quickly booked McCormick for the March 28-30, 2009 show. LAST WORD: "Make no little plans," said ABS CEO Paul Dykstra, quoting Daniel Burnham, the architect of Chicago's famed lakefront parks. "ABS made no little plans for the beauty event of the decade."