Fellowship men's trends evening pulls in the crowds

If proof were needed that interest in men's hairdressing is growing, it could be found at the first ever Fellowship for British Hairdressing Men's Trends event. A capacity crowd - it was standing room only for stragglers - packed out the Toni & Guy Academy in London's New Oxford Street to see some of hairdressing's biggest names display their skills and share their experiences of the world of men's hairdressing. On stage were X-factor official hairdresser and HJ's 2011 Men's Hairdresser of the Year, Jamie Stevens; 2009 Men's Hairdresser of the Year Desmond Murray; Toni & Guy artistic director and 2010 Men's Hairdresser of the Year Jody Taylor; and 2010 Eastern Hairdresser of the Year Chris Appleton. The four inspirational hairdressers each showcased their individual approach to men's hairdressing, demonstrating a range of techniques using clippers and scissors.

There were no clippers in sight when Jody Taylor took guests through his technique. "We don't believe in using clippers at the Toni & Guy Academy," he said. Jody's look was military inspired. "I read that during World War 2 after training soldiers were told that the hair below their helmets belonged to their country, but the hair under their helmets belonged to them." Jody's model captured this concept, with the back and the sides of the hair cut very tight, using scissor over comb, with the top of the hair full of texture, for what Jody described as "a manly editorial look."

Jamie Stevens was more than happy to brandish his clippers to create his ultra-cool quiff, with striking skin fade at the sides and back of the head. He also revealed to the audience that he will be official hairdresser on the next series of Britain's Got Talent! But despite all his high-profile TV work, Jamie declared that the "biggest door opener" for him had been his time on the FAME Team under the then manager, the late Terry Calvert.

The debonair Chris Appleton presented a model with icy blonde hair, which had been pre-lightened. "This look is inspired by the Calvin Klein shows during Fashion Week," said Chris. "I love the minimalism and the clean shapes." Chris said he believed it was down to stylists in the salon to instil confidence in their male clients to ask for more edgy looks.

Desmond Murray presented a striking Afro look which he cut using clippers. Desmond described his technique as very visual, sculpting the hair "from the outside in". Desmond also shared some of his experiences from his photographic career and the challenges of being on both sides of the camera for his own shoots. He told the audience that although he was a successful hair photographer, he was still first and foremost a hairdresser.

All four stylists also talked the audience members through a second presentation model offering further inspiration to take back to their salons.

See more images from this event on the HJ Men blog.