Curiosity and creativity at F.A.M.E. Team finals 2024 Creative HEAD Magazine

The final eight battled out a twenty-minute styling task and revealed their unique skills and personalities in a second model round

The F.A.M.E. Team finals took place this week, with an appropriate flourish of hair attitude, drama, and steely competition.

Hosted within the brick-exposed confines of West London’s Loft Studios, the last round of the competition saw the final eight stylists including Stephen Campbell (Hair&Co), Kristian Szalay (TONI&GUY East Sheen), Elle Foreman (Tribe Clapham), James Farrar (TONI&GUY Bluewater), Ilaria Bellemo (TONI&GUY Canary Wharf), Phoebe Carraro (Seanhanna), Morgan Graham (MG The Hair Specialists), and Harry Andreou (Ventura), give it all to a famed team of judges including Adam Reed, Alasdair Jubbs, Ellie Bond, Errol Douglas MBE, Jacqui McIntosh, Kathryn Dartnell, Lisa Farrall, Robert Masciave, and Sam Burnett.

Split into two groups of four, the first assessment round was a twenty-minute long hair styling challenge where stylists were encouraged to showcase their skills through their work. Kristian Szalay, art director at Toni&Guy London Academy, sprayed his model with multi-coloured butterflies, a nod to his love of the avant-garde.

Then it was time for the F.A.M.E. Team 2023 to grace the stage with their new nineties-inspired collection. Team member Stephanie Gallagher explained the inspiration behind the collection, which included work by fellow team members Edd Moss, James Parr and Stacey Wright. The collection, they said, had an emphasis on imperfection inspired by the ‘do it yourself’ hairstyle culture of the decade due to the tough economic situation at the time where many couldn’t afford to get their hair done professionally.

Elle Foreman’s model (pictured above)

No doubt inspired by what the previous F.A.M.E. Team have achieved, 2024’s finalists returned to the stage with their final models and showed the judges the extent of their unique creative voices.

Elle Foreman of Tribe Clapham told an emotionally engaging story through her model who sported a seabed green wig which was then tossed away to reveal a burnished orange sleek mid-length look. This transformation, Elle explained, represented her own personal mental health journey. Later, the crowd was taken back to the EDM mania of the 90s with a bold fiery bowl-cut look served by James Farrar’s model to the tune of Firestarter by The Prodigy.

A high-octane, high-energy evening it most certainly was, but the crowd was left hungry for more and eager to know who the F.A.M.E. Team 2024 would be. The Fellowship Team president Robert Eaton told the revved-up audience that all would be revealed at the Fellowship Luncheon and Awards on 4 December! So, stay tuned and keep your patience!