Bewdley salon beat off 1,000 UK hairdressers to be crowned the best

A BEWDLEY hair salon has beaten off the competition from 1,000 other hairdressers across the UK and scooped the top prize at the hairdressing industry’s longest running and most fashion-led hairdressing awards, the 2015 L’Oréal Colour Trophy Grand Final.

On Monday (June 1), Abacus Hair’s creative three-month journey came to a dramatic finale inside Battersea Evolution, Battersea Park, London.

The talented winners will now launch their renowned title into a ‘year of dreams’ – a prize designed to both boost their business and cultivate their artistic development.

Salon owner Allison Webster-Ford said despite winning the prize in a previous year, it did not take away from the surprise and delight of the High Street salon’s name being called.

She said: “It was a tremendously emotional moment as our whole table erupted in squeals of delight. We were still on a bit of a high about winning the western region and happy to have achieved that, so I didn’t really register that they called our name immediately.

“I am so proud of our team for achieving this award. We have really taken it step-by-step and each time we got further in the competition we hoped we could go all the way. We are absolutely delighted with the result.”

More than 1,500 of the hairdressing industries most acclaimed and famous figures filled the capitol’s venue with immense applause as Abacus Hair rushed to the stage to collect their iconic award. TV and radio presenter Lauren Laverne and managing director for L’Oréal professional products division UK, Omar Hajeri handed the team their giant trophy during a moment they said they will never forget.

Up against 31 other salons in the final round, the team from Abacus Hair created a fashion focused model look that took the judging panel by storm and lead to them winning not only the L’Oréal Colour Trophy Western Region Award, but also the top prize.

Filled with hope and determination, Abacus Hair entered their photographic entry into the competition back in February before securing a place in the western regional final, winning that for a place in the final, and then beating off the remaining competition to come out on top.

The judging panel each agreed that Abacus Hair had followed the brief to the letter, the model look was a perfect example of beautifully executed colour and demonstrated a clear understanding of the latest catwalk trends.

Abacus Hair will now embark on a year of promotional, creative and business building activity including a three-day European trip to shoot their winning look with a professional photographic team, a beauty shoot with a leading women’s glossy magazine, interviews and profiles in the trade press and countless other PR opportunities.

Celebrating the world’s longest running live hairdressing competition, the L’Oréal Colour Trophy 2015.

A special congratulations to our Colour Trophy winner, Abacus Hair, Bewdley. Also a huge well done to all the Colour Trophy Grand Finalists and award winners.

Our vision for the L’Oréal Colour Trophy this year was to create a series of events that showcase the strong and rewarding partnership between L’Oréal Professionnel and British hairdressing, celebrating hair, beauty and fashion in a unique, immersive and aspirational way that will truly mark the 60-year milestone and catapult us into the next chapter of this exciting story.

A huge thank you to our entrants, judges and creative show presenters, who made the event what it was.