2015 ahfa australian hairdresser of the year damien rinaldo

Damien Rinaldo was crowned 2015 AHFA Australian Hairdresser of the Year at a glittering event last night in Sydney. Shot by Andrew O'Toole, his Bobohizan collection is 'anti-Kardashian', designed to provoke thoughts of how great you can look without being a celebrity clone. "My message for future seasons is to be brave and try something new that brings out a woman's individuality, personality and inner beauty," Damien says of his collection. "What's interesting about being the same as everyone else? It's not, it's boring! "The trend of sameness has occurred organically and is backed by peer pressure and social media. "Everyone is born unique so don't think that you can't do something different'." Damien said that these days it takes courage for a women not to want to fit the stereotype, but everyone has unique beauty so why aren't women capitalizing on that? "I am not suggesting that clients adopt the looks I've created here that are so challenging and extreme, but they could go short with the right bone structure, play with colour, or do something more daring with texture - whatever suits them and makes them feel confident and empowered. Girls just need to stop criticizing themselves and just go for it!" [hji-gallery-legacy]