The country's biggest hair competition Thailand TrendVision Award 2015 was held last Wednesday night at the Siam Pic-Ganesha Theatre, where a dozen finalists from more than 100 applicants competed for the top prize -- a spot in November's international competition in Berlin.
The looks were judged on their technical colour and texture, as well as the model's overall look and the stylists' professionalism and interpretation of Wella Professionals' spring/summer 2015 trend.
MOGA salon's Patcharee Apirom took home the Gold Award with her interpretation of the Distilled Colour trend as the "Metallic" look, which boasted the transitioning of black and grey hues upon a geometric cut.
"We're seeing more of the raw look. It's very mineral and very natural but very sophisticated in the way that it's done," Wella International's associate director of operations Tony Lefebvre said of this year's hair trend.
"When I say natural, I don't mean necessarily inspired by virgin hair, or going for natural hair looks. The stylists are inspired by what they see in nature, which could be mineral colours or different, brighter looks, just as there's earthy tones as well as bright colours in the natural world."
This year, 10 of the finalists were male and 11 of the looks were short hairstyles. Lefebvre believed that the dominance of short cuts was just a case of chance.
"We're focused on hairdressers fully expressing their creativity through observation of the environment and being innovative with colour. We're here to support them to grow locally and internationally, whether they're male or female," he said.
Tony Lefebvre.
The Silver Award went to Jiraphas Larpsarn from Chic One & Only, with his "Miracle Bee" short cut, combining orange, gold and brown hues. Oazis Salon's Prem Sitthipreedanunt took the Bronze Award with another short style called "The Energy of Sensation" while the audience-chosen Popular Award went to Apisarn Yookittichai of Mozadh salon for his "Modern Gothic" look.
Each of the finalists were mentored as part of Wella's education programme. Patcharee will receive further mentoring so she's ready for the global stage in Berlin.
"I wouldn't be surprised if some Thai hairdressers become known internationally in coming years," Lefebvre said. "Our education programmes are the same here as they are in other countries and there's a lot of great talent coming out of Thailand. Hairdressers here are very good, very creative, very dynamic and very young."
More hairdressing talents are required for a booming beauty industry, he added, of which the colouring of hair is definitely becoming more popular.
"Beauty is important to a lot of people; people don't compromise on beauty, even when times are tough," he said.
Running for 13 years, the international TrendVision Award gathers hairdressing talents from all over the globe to crown a world champion. Last year in Frankfurt, Suppasan Kaewbanphot won a silver medal in the colouring category.
For the Berlin competition, Patcharee will now create an entirely new hairstyle based on the autumn/winter 2015 trend, combining marbled colours and untamed textures.
Modern Gothic by Apisarn Yookittichai.
The Energy of Sensation earned Prem Sitthipreedanunt a bronze.
Miracle Bee by Jiraphas Larpsarn, who won the Silver Award.
Patcharee Apirom's winning Metallic look.
