Unite hair kicks off day one of global session in style

More than 900 hairdressers from across the globe descended on San Diego, California for UNITE Hair's second annual Global Session.

Setting the tone for the conference, day one kicked off with a day of imaginative and inspiring hairdressing at the city's historical Balboa Theatre from leading names representing the US, UK, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands.

Founder and CEO Andrew Dale opened the day by reminding the audience that UNITE Hair doesn't see itself as being part of the beauty industry, but rather as being a part of the fashion world. "We're a boutique brand," he said. "And boutique is a feeling - being small means we can change very quickly, just like the fashion industry.'

He also revealed that the company were moving their education facility in San Diego from in-house to downtown, right in the heart of the city. Other updates included the announcement of live education streamed via their website, with guest artists from across the globe providing real-time education which can also be played back on demand.

With the welcome over, it was time for the creative shows to start opening with a presentation from Dale himself as well as leading session stylist Paul Merritt, David 'Fletch' Fletcher from Urban Retreat, London and Dona McLachlan from Snip, Miami.

Fletch's look was inspired by Meadham Kirchhoff's Autumn/Winter 2012 collection at London Fashion Week and saw him tease a red wig into a disco bouffant, complete with spray-on black roots. Long hair was the look for Paul, who styled hair in effortless waves with a matte finish and plenty of volume.

Dale showed off his Sassoon heritage with an undercut bob, complemented with a deep, rich solid shade of plum, while Dona also demonstrated the versatility of the bob with a sleek, classic style in a glossy brunette.

The next four artists on stage were director of education Steven De Lorenzo, Stacey Joyce of The Parlour in Denver, Jami Symons of Jami Symons in Calgary and Adam Noble of Next Hair in Australia.

Steven created a beautiful bright blonde crop with disconnected layers, explaining that he loves to cut short hair on stage as traditionally clients prefer long looks. His directional crop was the perfect example of how short hair is becoming more appealing to everyday clients. Sticking with a longer look was Stacey, who gave a long straight style depth with a shine line of colour, enhanced with kicked out kinks of texture.

Adam was inspired by the current Chanel campaign, creating a textured blunt bob with choppy fringe and a deliberately wig-gy feel. Bringing some high-octane glamour to proceedings was Jamie, who created a Betty Grable-inspired updo before releasing the curls and brushing out to create a mane of volume, matched with a hair piece-jacket.

The second half of the show saw Cor Bouw of Dutch Hair in the Netherlands, sessions stylist Julie Mustoffa-Meggit, Kevin Kahan of Kevin Kahan in Bangor, Island and stylist Trevor Ellingson take to the stage.

Cor created a versatile crop which works for day or night, and which can be dressed up or down depending on the client's preference, cutting with a razor with new techniques that wowed the audience. Julie opted for a striking colour, using bold red, black and purple to bring to life an asymmetric crop.

Trevor also used colour to bring to life his look, again opting for red for a show-stopping bob with a multi-dimensional feel. Finally Kevin showed off the skills that have made him HJ's Northern Ireland Hairdresser of the Year twice, using backcombing as a base and adding waves using the tip of a comb clamped between straighteners for a breathtaking editorial look.

Next to the stage were the FAME Team presented by Bruce Masefield, with Becky Hunt, Ryan Harris, Ashleigh Hodges and Isabella Hyde representing the best of the UK's young hairdressing talent.

Showing the skills they have developed over their year with the team, Becky created an avant garde plaited style, using padding to create a sculptural base. Ryan opted for a crop with textured fringe and petrol-inspired colour with blues, greens and purples enhancing the style. Isabella opted for a contrasting look, with a bob on one side graduating into a waved style finished with dip-dye colour. Introducing the audience to the trend for chalking, Ashleigh finished off a Blondie-inspired bob with pastel blue colour.

Closing the first day were sessions stylists Gary Glossman and Renee Africa and Dennis Kil and Edward Meijerink, both demonstrating the best in Dutch hairdressing.

Gary opted for an 80s inspired Alvin Stardust style, showing the versatility of a crop with extra length while Renee was inspired by the 70s to create a rounded bob shape, finished in a striking purple and pink colour combination. And, proving that striking styles can be salon friendly, she revealed that her model was a regular client whose hair she had cut for 16 years.

Representing the Netherlands, both Dennis and Edward used crimpers to create dramatic stylers. Edward painted on wet-look gel in a strip down the middle of the head to contrast against winged rolls of crimping, while Dennis opted for an enormous oversized beehive. Stressing the weekend's message of education and opportunity, Dennis even handed over the reigns to his assistant allowing her to take centre stage and finish the style.

The first day closed with the UNITEd Awards; a celebration of salons who have represented the brand well throughout the year. Each winner will now enjoy a day of training in their salon from one of the brands creative directors.

And the winners were;

West Coast UNITEd Salon: Avalon

Canada UNITEd Salon: Passion Beauty Salon

East Coast UNITEd Salon: Studio 926

Midwest UNITEd Salon: Elle Salon

Top Educational Support: Panache Hair Studio

Multi-Location UNITEd Salon: The Parlour