The winners of this year's ANZ Hair Industry Awards Creative (AHIA Creative) have been crowned.
The Australian and New Zealand hair industry’s biggest celebration of creativity and excellence was held at The Star Sydney Event Centre, championing the full spectrum of hairdressing artistry.
The event marked not only the fifth year of this prestigious awards platform, but also a phenomenal 20 years of Mocha Group as a leading force in media, awards and events across the hair, beauty and barber industries.
"We launched the AHIA Creative Awards to provide a platform where visionary talent could be recognised, supported, and celebrated," said Mocha Group founder, Linda Woodhead.
"As Mocha Group celebrates 20 years at the heart of this industry, I couldn’t be prouder of how far we’ve come and of the extraordinary individuals shaping what’s next. Congratulations to all our winners."
Amongst fierce competition and a record-breaking 40% increase in entries, key winners included:
AHIA Creative Australian Hairdresser of the Year 2025 – Bernadette Beswick of Beswick Education Services
AHIA Creative New Zealand Hairdresser of the Year 2025 – Sara Allsop of Dharma Salon
AHIA Creative International Hairdresser of the Year 2025 – Marlon Hawkins of Brooks & Brooks
Their outstanding work stood out to the respected judges including Errol Douglas, Mark Leeson, Candy Shaw, Vivienne Mackinder, and media royalty from the UK and Canada.
It was a huge night for Brisbane hairdressing icon Bill Tsiknaris who was inducted into the AHIA Creative Hall of Fame for his outstanding contribution and lifelong impact on the industry, and celebrated colleague and sister-in-law Shae Tsiknaris who was awarded a prestigious Medal of Honour for winning AHIA Creative Master Cutter of the Year for three consecutive years.
This year also introduced four brand-new categories, and the inaugural winners included:
AHIA Creative One Shot Hair Masterpiece – Dee Parker Attwood, Wieselmann Salon
AHIA Creative Editorial Hairstylist of the Year – Anthony Nader
AHIA Creative Make Over Artist of the Year – Domi Cherie, Tsiknaris Hair
AHIA Creative Best Branded Video – Evo Hair
The 2025 AHIA Creative Awards were proudly sponsored by Dyson, CPR and Amazing Hair, and supported by Angel Extensions, Cloud Nine, Dateline Imports, Expo4Barbers, Goddess, Goldwell, Hair Candy, Kin Cosmetics, L’Oréal Professionnel, Matrix, Matsui Hair, Redken, Rogue Beauty, Schwarzkopf, Something Beauty House, Hair Festival and Wella, along with marketing communications specialists Lily Blue who provide winners with valuable PR support.
Image credit: Supplied
