Kao Salon Global Experience 2022 crowns winners

The 2022 global champions were crowned in an extravagant celebration of creativity, culture and community at the Kao Salons Global Experience in Amsterdam

Colour and creativity lit up the stage in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, as almost 2300 hairdressers came together for the first in-person Kao Salon Global Experience since 2019. Those who couldn’t join in the festivities tuned in from home to see the global winners of the hybrid competition were named.

The Technical Categories got underway bright and early, comprising of New Talent Colorist of the Year, Creative Colorist of the Year and – new for 2022 – Creative Haircutter of the Year. Meanwhile the arena buzzed with live artist sessions from Kao salon partners across the globe, while attendees could also check out the latest innovations from Goldwell, KMS, Varis and Oribe at the individual brand booths.

The Global Creative Awards evening kicked off with a rapturous welcome from host Venus Mountain, before launching into a visual journey through time with Mario Krankl’s ‘Hair In Motion’ show, featuring futuristic shapes, bold colour blocking and seamless blends.

Global Goldwell ambassador Angelo Seminara blew away the crowd with the reveal of his brand new hair collection, and film, for Hair Every Wear 2.0, building on his collection from last year’s virtual event. Combining art, architecture, fashion, philosophy and beauty, Angelo commented of his work: “Hair Every Wear 2.0 embraces that feeling where everyone is unique and everyone is free to be whoever they want to be. It’s going to bring you an emotion, and from an emotion, it becomes a feeling, and from a feeling, it becomes a piece of art.”

GLOBAL CREATIVE AWARDS

The awards were split into the pre-judged Editorial categories and the live competition of the Technical categories. The judges commented on the difficulty of choosing the winners, but choose they must.

Editorial Categories

Editorial Colorist of the Year
GOLD: Ben Driscoll-Price from United Kingdom
SILVER: Amy Wardley from United Kingdom
BRONZE: Jack Mead & Lydia Wolfe from United Kingdom

Avant Garde Stylist of the Year
GOLD: Tom Yek Teng Siong from Malaysia
SILVER: Manou Grijsen from Netherlands
BRONZE: Abbie Jackson from Australia

Salon Team of the Year
GOLD: Siew Thiam Kui from Malaysia
SILVER: Rafa Monzó López from Spain
BRONZE: Donna Page from United Kingdom

Men’s Hairstylist of the Year
GOLD: Andrew Plester from United Kingdom
SILVER: Jeffrey Den Dikkenboer from Netherlands
BRONZE: Jos Verzijlberg from Netherlands

Technical categories

New Talent Colorist of the Year
GOLD: Tiew Pei Yu from Malaysia
SILVER: Emily Kooistra from Canada
BRONZE: Lucia McEvoy from United Kingdom

Creative Colorist of the Year
GOLD: Junz Loke from Singapore
SILVER: Ian Lee Jia Pei from Malaysia
BRONZE: Tasha Yip from Hong Kong

Creative Haircutter of the Year
GOLD: Daniela Farzetti from Italy
SILVER: Rafael Monzó López from Spain
BRONZE: Alex Tant from USA

Another highlight of the show was the recognition of one salon per continent for their leadership in salon sustainability:

Europe ­– Floke, Norway.
North America – Gene Juarez Salons, Spas & Academies, United States of America.
Asia – red hill hair salon, Hong Kong.
Australia – Shibui, Australia.

Technical Category Bronze Winners: Lucia McEvoy, Tasha Yip, Alex Tant

Technical Category Silver Winners: Emily Kooistra, Ian Lee Jia Pei, Rafael Monzó López

Technical Category Gold Winners: Tiew Pei Yu, Junz Loke, Daniela Farzetti

The UK’s winners for 2022: Jack Mead & Lydia Wolfe, Amy Wardley, Ben Driscoll-Price, Donna Page, Andrew Plester and Lucia McEvoy