The largest hairdressing event in the Southern Hemisphere happened across the weekend, with more than 10,000 hairdressers from around the world descending on Sydney for three days of education, inspiration and creativity. With the exhibition floor bustling with more than 2,000 products from over 1,000 industry brands, a host of innovative new products were launched to the hairdressing industry.
The annual Hair Expo weekend brings the biggest and the best of the hair world to Sydney’s doorstep. This year, expo-goers received an unparalleled opportunity to experience the hottest brands and products, world-class education, international talent and show-stopping live performances over three days of jam-packed action,” says Hair Expo event director Amelia Coote-Harris.
Preparations
There is a lot of planning that goes into each year’s Hair Expo, with this year being particularly busy with the added pressure of organising a brand new venue. It generally takes a full year to organise the Expo, and we always go into the weekend thinking about the year ahead. Saying that, the overall planning for each year’s exhibition is really a rolling schedule that spans a few years as we’re always trying to bring something new to the Expo. If something doesn’t get put into place one year, we try and fit it into another year’s show. Some artists we’ve been liaising with for up to four years to find an appropriate place for them in the Expo,” reveals Coote-Harris.
New venue
This year saw Hair Expo welcome a brand new specially-built home at the Glebe Island Exhibition Centre, with the original Darling Harbour venue undergoing a three-year make-over. The specially-built 20,000 square metre space features state of the art structures that were most recently used during the London Olympics. Located on Sydney's stunning harbour foreshore near the ANZAC Bridge, this fresh new venue offered contemporary pop-up eating spaces, captivating views of Sydney's harbour, and icons that let visitors enjoy Hair Expo 2014 in a dynamic, bright new space,” reveals Coote-Harris.
It’s show time
As well as non-stop hair fashion parades and demonstrations of the Main Stage and at exhibitors’ stands, each night featured a hairdressing gala show that involved more than 1,000 models over the course of the weekend. With more than 500 cans of hairspray used, over 2,000 costume changes throughout the event, $6 million plus spent on hairdressing supplies, and 600 hours of on-site hair prepping - the shows were nothing short of spectacular.
Special features
With each year’s Expo attempting to be bigger and better than the last, this year’s Hair Expo witnessed must-see features including a showcase of international and local talent such as Tabatha Coffey, Antoinette Beenders, Mark Hayes and local names, Frank Apostolopoulos and Joey Scandizzo. On top of this, there was non-stop hair inspiration on the Hair Expo Main and Launch Pad stages and a star-studded education line-up offering everything from business skills to practical sessions.
Why brands got involved
Attracting big names including the likes of , , , Goldwell Dualsenses, , Wella Professionals and many more, this year saw a host of brands take to the floor to highlight their new launches and to build their brand.
Using Hair Expo to launch their revolutionary Thredlox hair tool, Savoir Faire saw Hair Expo as the ideal platform for discussing business opportunities with salons around Australia. We hoped to get the attention of the hair industry in Australia and create some new partnerships first and foremost. We wanted our brand to become better known across the country and we also hoped to get Thredlox and our make-up into the hands of as many people as possible,” explains Savoir Faire director Leia Corrie.
Coote-Harris believes that Hair Expo is the perfect launch pad for beauty brands: Hair Expo offers brands an unrivalled opportunity for exposure within the industry. Whether a brand wants to demonstrate its standing prestige in the industry, increase sales or launch a new product – Hair Expo delivers a unique platform for exhibitors to foster relationships with new and existing customers through tailored events and interaction to deliver immediate results.”
Launch pad
The weekend saw a number of products and brands being launched, including:
Products:
Thredlox
World-first Thredlox introduces a revolution to curling, colouring and texturising. Developed by Savoir Faire creative director Simone Lee, the hair tool takes hairstyling and colouring techniques from the ordinary to the extraordinary.
Headlines Hairpieces - Wefts on the Run
Created in collaboration with hair expert Sharon Blain, Wefts on the Run offers a variety of taped human hair extension options, extension remover and extra tape. Made from the finest human hair, the wefts are not like regular glued-in extensions - the specially-designed tape ensures hair will hold perfectly in place at all times and be simply removed with Headlines Remover Solution, avoiding damage to the human hair.
Brands:
- blinc is a vegan cosmetic range that is cruelty-free.
- Offering a sun-kissed, golden and natural tan, LDN:SKINS is organic and has no fake-tan smell.
- LYXO is a new high-quality Danish-designed hair band made from unique elastic fibre material. The material is gentle to the hair, giving a perfect and long-lasting hold that doesn't pinch the hair or pull on the scalp.
Brands involved: