Five minutes on salon international with... mark hayes

Mark Hayes, international creative director at Sassoon Academy will be appearing with the Sassoon Academy Team at Salon Live on Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th October 2013. Who would you most like to collaborate with at Salon International? David Bowie would be cool. Due to our global commitments the International Creative Team are rarely in one place in such numbers, so it is a real treat to collaborate with so many of them at one event. However if I could have one key collaborator on stage with the team and I at Salon International it would, of course, have been Vidal. How do you prepare for Salon International? Salon International is a unique event for us. London is where the brand originated so the preparation is all the more significant. Over the weekend we will work with in excess of 70 models with a small army of make up artists, show producers, clothes stylists, backstage crew and of course the hair team. I would say that the preparation starts with the nucleus of the collection concept about seven or eight months prior and gradually gains momentum over that period. It is always an amazing sight to see something represented live on stage that has been so carefully nurtured. What's your must see stand, presentation or event at Salon International? I think the Fellowship Stand always provides a magnificent opportunity for many hair artists to platform their work. Ann Herman and the team deserve every accolade for their ongoing commitment to our industry. To be honest, I like to walk around and soak up the atmosphere of this incredible event, there is always something interesting to see. What's your top tip for anyone attending Salon International? Unlike HJ's publishing director, Jayne Lewis-Orr, who incredibly spends the weekend in amazingly high heels, my advice would be to wear flats! Seriously though I would say arrive early and stay late... What's on the agenda for you when the exhibition is over? I'd like to say a large glass of something chilled and a week in the Bahamas. However, we present an event either side of Salon International at our Academy in London to an intimate group of guests that precedes and immediately follows the weekend. Then it's on to our collection launch at the Sassoon Academy in LA followed by a new collection to be ready for a February launch. Between this we will shoot our salon collection for A/W14, then it will be time to start planning for Salon International all over again... I am looking forward to it already! Salon International takes place at ExCel London from 12 to 14 October. For more information and to book your tickets, visit www.salonexhibitions.co.uk or call 0844 894 2000. Don’t forget to follow @Salon_Intl and #salon2013 for all the latest updates, or like the Facebook page here.