Colour heroes celebrated at headmasters awards

Following a successful launch last year, Headmasters held its second Colour Heroes Colour Awards at the decadent Clapham Grand nightclub in South West London.

An audience of over 500 family and friends filled the seats to support the young contestants in three categories; Stylists with Over Five Years' Experience, Stylists with Under Five Years' Experience, and Assistants and Graduates.

Following a rousing welcome from Headmasters Managing Director, John Sanders, the judges were introduced as AJ Blackadder, group technical director for Andrew Barton; Carolyn Newman, colour and art team director at Charles Worthington; Graham Cook, national accounts technical manager at L'Oréal Professionnel and HJ''s news and features writer, Rachael Gibson.

First to present were the stylists with over five years' experience, whose brief challenged them to invent a new, unique colour concept. Inspirations came from sources including the strings of a guitar and the feather formation of a swan, for looks that varied from cutting edge couture to red carpet glamour.

Then it was over to the stylists with under five years' experience who were tasked with creating a cut and colour concept for the Autumn/Winter season. Research and moodboards were particularly strong in this category, with well-thought out inspirations translating to wearable looks.

Finally it was the turn of the assistants and graduates, some of whom had only been on the salon floor for a matter of months. Their brief was to interpret a current trend, with dip-dye and ombré a popular choice for the style-savvy young talent.

After some tough deliberation and an inspiring new season colour presentation from L'Oréal Professionnel, winners and runners-up were announced in each category, with the overall judges' choice prize presented to Chris Rea of Headmasters Soho, for his perfectly executed and well-research androgynous style. As well a trophy, Chris won two tickets to the 2012 L'Oréal Colour Trophy and a place for him and a friend on the upcoming L'Oréal Professionnel Exposure Tour to Madrid. 

And the winners were:

Winner: Leanne Cutsforth, Paddington

Runner-up: Ajay Johnson, Staines

Winner: Chris Rea, Soho

Runner-up: Aimee Courteen, Paddington

Winner: Luke Ellis, Epsom

Runner-up: Jack Woolgar, Brighton

Chris Rea, Soho