There were cheers and tears of delight as Lisa Redman and Catherine Seeman were crowned queens of the catwalk having won the L'Oréal Professionnel Colour Trophy, the world’s longest running, most stylish hair competition.

The talented team from Mack in Chelmsford realised their dreams and created an award winning look that drew its influence from Alexander McQueen’s Autumn/Winter 08/09 catwalk collection. Their gorgeous curly style is set to be a big hit with style conscious clients in their popular salon.

Over 1,300 of the world’s top hairdressers gave a standing ovation as Catherine and Lisa collected their award from the evening’s ultra-fashionable presenter Fearne Cotton and Mr Nicolas Hieronimus, President Professional Products Division Worldwide. Speaking moments after they came off stage, it was clear that the enormity of their achievement would take a while to sink in, “We’re absolutely speechless,” said Lisa.

Talent, drive and determination saw them through three tough rounds of the competition which started way back in March. Over 1,200 salon teams entered, 351 Regional Finalists were short-listed; with 45 Finalists selected to compete at the Grand Final.

The win means that the team have hit the big time in hairdressing and will now pick up a prize package that includes a five star all expenses paid trip to New York, a photo spread with fashion bible Vogue and numerous opportunities that will boost their profile.

On the day of the Grand Final Lisa and Catherine represented the Eastern region and were among 27 teams from across the UK vying for the top spot in the L'Oréal Professionnel Colour Trophy. Under the brief ‘hair inspired by fashion’ competitors spent 2.5 hours colouring, coiffing and styling their model to perfection before a host of hairdressing legends were brought in to judge their work.

Hair Gods Richard Ward, Charles Worthington and Errol Douglas were among the panel of industry peers deliberating over who should be the winner.

Unaware of their fate, competitors and their supporters made their way to the spectacular Grand Final at Earls Court 2 to experience total glamour, total sophistication and total inspiration – the very best of British hairdressing. The team watched with pride as their model stepped out onto the catwalk. Throughout the evening there were stunning shows by Andrew Collinge and Alan Edwards in addition to an exclusive showcase of fashion designer Marios Schwab’s’ Autumn/Winter 07/08 collection.

As the competition headed towards its dramatic conclusion, Lisa and Catherine got their first taste of success as they were announced winners of the Eastern region. When it was time to reveal the winning team and they heard their name called again, there was disbelief then delight as Lisa explains;

“We just couldn’t believe it! There was a very strong contender from the North Western region and we had pretty much assumed they had taken the title. When our salon name was announced we were absolutely gobsmacked. From that point on, the night is a blur! We are absolutely over the moon.”

The judges agreed that the talented team had met the brief to reflect Autumn/Winter 08/09 trends as set by L’Oréal Professionnel as Charles Worthington explains;

“The girls showed that they possess true hairdressing vision and raw talent – essential ingredients for a winning L'Oréal Professionnel Colour Trophy team. Their look was original, beautifully executed and worked in perfect harmony with the clothes styling. It met the brief with razor-sharp precision.”

The girls will now begin their year-long journey as winners of the L'Oréal Professionnel Colour Trophy and they are clearly relishing the opportunities that lie ahead as Catherine explains. “To have your work featured in Vogue is the ultimate achievement and we are really looking forward to the New York trip. We are very, very excited about the future and can’t wait to get started on our journey as L'Oréal Professionnel Colour Trophy winners!”

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