Joico kicks off a year of education in antwerp

Joico got 2012 off to a stylish start with an international gathering in the fashionable Flanders town of Antwerp.

One of Europe's most celebrated centres of art and avant garde fashion, the Belgian city was the ideal location for Joico's Kick-Off Show & Party.

Following a day of conferences the evening was all about education and inspiration, with trend-led presentations from the Joico Europe Art Team at a a converted warehouse in the heart of Antwerp's historic port area.

More than 500 hairdressers representing Europe, America and Australasia enjoyed a series of presentations from the Joico and Structure Art Teams, demonstrating the 2012 Atlas Trend Collection and techniques inspired by the new J Cut and Color education programme.

 

Introducing the new approach to education, Joico International Guest Artist, Bert de Zeeuw from the Netherlands said: "We are all creative people here but we still need support for our ideas. J Cut and Color is all about making a really strong, solid foundation for you to build your creativity around."

The rest of the Joico Art Team - Ulf Schjerpen from Norway, David Murray from Ireland and Gianni Scumaci from England - then joined Bert on stage to put the theory into practice, working with cut and colour together to demonstrate the new Atlas collection for 2012.

Inspired by a mix of global cultures, world travel and international street culture, Atlas fused strong lines and flattering shapes with surprising shades of pink, gold, violet and blue. Taking the   worldly theme to another level, sectioning patterns and colours were inspired by international flags - ranging from Chinese red and gold to Brazilian blue and green.

Using elements of the new education techniques to fuse cut and colour effortlessly, David explained: "J Cut and Color is about introducing a faster, more efficient way of working. These methods will make it quicker and easier to get to the point of your hairstyle, allowing more time for creativity."

 

The second half of the show was dedicated to the Structure range of styling products, with a series of edgy, urban looks demonstrated by members of the UK Design Team - Ian Davies of Ocean Hairdressing, Cardiff, Kate Cunningham of Stannard and Slingsby, London, Ryan Nicoletti-Dowd of Wigg Hairdressing, Henley on Thames, Gill Berry of Hug8, Uxbridge and Daniel Granger of Mask, Northampton.

Using street-scouted models, the team showed off a series of individual styles with a focus on on-trend texture created by cocktailed products and fearless, vibrant colour ranging from Spring/Summer 2012's must-have pastel pink to glossy purple.

With the show over, it was time to enjoy the best of Belgian hospitality with drinking and dancing til the early hours.