There were cheers and tears of delight as Anna Chapman, 24 and Kate Wilson, 38 were crowned queens of the catwalk having won the L'Oréal Professionnel Men's Image Award at the L'Oréal Professionnel Colour Trophy, the world's longest running, most stylish hair competition.

The talented team realised their dreams and created an award winning look that drew its influence from retro eighties styling. Bold, blonde and ice-cool, their vision is set to be a big hit with style conscious male clients in their Brighton-based salon.

Over 1,300 of the world's top hairdressers gave a standing ovation as Anna and Kate 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 Anna.

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 Anna and Kate represented the Southern region and were among just seven teams from across the UK vying for the top spot in the L'Oréal Professionnel Men's Image Award. 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. They 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 Schwabs' Autumn/Winter 07/08 collection.

As the competition headed towards its dramatic conclusion, Anna and Kate were on tenterhooks as they waited to hear their fate. When it was time to reveal the winning team and they heard their name called, there was disbelief then delight as Kate explains;

"We are absolutely overwhelmed and ecstatic. We knew our look was strong but it could've gone either way - love or hate! Essentially this was the whole point of the style and we are so pleased that the judges understood what we were trying to get across.”

The judges agreed that the talented 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.”

Anna and Kate will now begin their year-long journey as winners of the L'Oréal Professionnel Men's Image award and they are clearly relishing the opportunities that lie ahead.

"We're both looking forward to the New York trip. Our next step on the L'Oréal Professionnel Colour Trophy journey will be to re-create our look at the winners shoot. It will be a fantastic feeling to stand back and reflect on what we have achieved before moving forward into our year as title holders.”

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