American crew's face off competition - the final
With cool, on-trend images of men's hair at the heart of American Crew's Face Off competition, the uber-trendy Paramount Bar at the top of Soho's Centre Point building proved an apt setting for the final.
It had been quite a journey for the 20 gathered finalists, starting in the Spring of 2010 when they began planning their entries for the black and white men's photographic competition which aims to find the UK's top men's hair stylists.
Their adventure continued in November last year when they were treated to a storming awards ceremony, catwalk show and party in Manchester - it was at this event that they discovered
their finalist status.
Picking four winners, including a People's Choice award, voted by Asahi Beer, one of the sponsors, was no easy task. The team at American Crew were looking for images that reflected the man of today but also the "timeless character" of the brand.
With three winners each receiving a prize including a trip to the US and an exclusive photoshoot with American Crew founder, David Raccuglia, excitement mounted throughout the pre-awards meal.
Finalists were happy to wait a little longer to discover their fate, while American Crew's education manager, Dominique Rohde introduced the latest American Crew collection, New Folk. Dominique presented three models sporting the season's key looks, with natural movement and texture very much on the agenda.
For the four winners, it was worth the wait, and all finalists were ready with their appreciation of another great event for men's hairdressing.
The winners were:
- Dean Smith, Zoology Men, Wanstead, London
- Diana Carson, Rainbow Room International, Uddingston, Lanarkshire
- Parisa Sassani, the Wacky Barber, Soho, London
And winning a year's free supply of Asahi Beer was the People's Choice Award winner, Danielle Barr, Hooka, Liverpool
Parisa summed up the excitement of all the winners when she told HJ: "Winning Face Off the first time I entered is a dream come true. It has opened up a window of great opportunities and got the ball rolling in the right direction. This is the start of good things to come with my career, and also great publicity for the salon. It has put our name on the map and advertises the great standard of work we produce, influenced by current day to day trends in and around London and by the latest American Crew collections."
