British Hairdressing Awards celebrates 25 years
Tens of thousands of glittering lights in red, white and blue welcomed guests to the 25th British Hairdressing Awards presented by Hairdressers Journal International and sponsored by Schwarzkopf Professional.
The ‘Oscars’ of hairdressing, the awards have recognised and rewarded the greatest names in the hairdressing industry throughout their 25-year history. Household names such as John Frieda, Trevor Sorbie, Charles Worthington, Andrew Collinge and Mark Hill have all been recipients of the British Hairdresser of the Year Award. Iconic hairstyles have been premiered at the British Hairdressing Awards, influencing how we wear our hair today.
To get the evening started all 97 finalists including the eight nominees for British Hairdresser of the Year walked into the room to rapturous applause. Jayne Lewis-Orr, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Hairdressers Journal International welcomed the 1,750 strong audience to a spectacular evening and introduced the first audio visual presentation which featured the finalists and their collections. This was followed by dinner and the introduction of the awards. The room erupted when X-Factor host Dermot O’Leary was introduced as the host for the evening. Dermot welcomed Jayne Lewis-Orr back on stage along with Colin Sillery, Managing Director of Schwarzkopf Professional and the announcement of the British Hairdressing Awards began.
Eastern Hairdresser of the Year was the first to be announced with a jubilant Terri Kay winning this award. This was followed by James Whyte being awarded Midlands Hairdresser of the Year and Janer Stewart being awarded Scottish Hairdresser of the Year. Susan Hall was announced as North Eastern Hairdresser of the Year, the announcements moved south when Leo Bancroft was awarded Southern Hairdresser of the Year followed by Kevin Kahan picking up the award for Northern Ireland Hairdresser of the Year. Sharon Peake was awarded North Western Hairdresser of the Year and the final regional title of the evening went to Darren Bain who won London Hairdresser of the Year. The regional awards were followed by the induction to the British Hairdressing Awards Hall of Fame Tracey Devine and Claire Rothstein who had won their respective categories of Scottish Hairdresser of the Year and Afro Hairdresser of the Year three times.
As the second audio visual of the evening began showcasing the 25 years of the British Hairdressing Awards, the London Community Gospel Choir began a soulful rendition of Ain’t No Stopping Us and Oh Happy Day. Dermot welcomed Jayne and Colin back onto stage and the announcement of the Specialist categories began with Michelle Thomson winning Afro Hairdresser of the Year followed by Darren Ambrose who won Avant Garde Hairdresser of the Year for the third time, securing him a place in the British Hairdressing Awards Hall of Fame. Men’s Hairdresser of the Year was awarded to Desmond Murray and surprise guest Gok Wan awarded Shaun Hall Newcomer of the Year title. HOB Salons won Artistic Team of the Year and the penultimate award of the night went to Chris Williams who was awarded Schwarzkopf Professional British Colour Technician of the Year.
The anticipation in the Great Room was incredible when the presentation by the eight nominees for British Hairdresser of the Year began. Andrew Barton, Errol Douglas, Mark Hayes, Gary Hooker & Michael Young, Akin Konizi, Lisa Shepherd, Angelo Seminara and Phil Smith presented the Best of British. The waiting was over when an ecstatic Akin Konizi was announced as the 2009 British Hairdresser of the Year.
Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Hairdressers Journal International, Jayne Lewis-Orr adds, “British hairdressing is renowned throughout the world for its creativity and innovation, and with the British Hairdressing Awards we are recognising, rewarding and celebrating the best of British. All of the winners and finalists should be extremely proud of their achievements.”
A jubilant Akin added, “Words cannot describe how proud I am to be recognised as the best in Britain and I look forward to flying the flag for British hairdressing over the next year. I’d like to thank everyone for their fabulous support.”
For more information, visit britishhairdressingawards.co.uk.
