L’Oréal Color Trophy 2013

June 21, 2013

By FAJO’s editorial team

Photography by Victor Crowl of smfp.tv and courtesy of L’Oréal Pro Canada

L’Oréal certainly knows how to throw a great party.

On June 9, L’Oréal Color Trophy gala was held for the first time in Toronto. For over 15 years, this creative event has celebrated the artistry of Canadian and international hairstylists. This year, the gala hosted some of the best hairstylists and salons from across the country. Series of awards were also presented in multiple categories.

The evening began at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, with a classy cocktail party. Guests sipped on champagne and voted for their favourite Color Trophy entries, as images of finalists’ work were displayed on large posters at the venue – these images sported profile shots of models who had very creative and colourful hairdos. Speaking of hairdos – the room was filled with some incredible hairstyles. It felt like the true hair Oscars.

Cocktail reception in full swing.

In the meantime, backstage, judges were making their decisions too, while analyzing the hairstyles live and deciding who will win in each category.

Members of the press were allowed to go backstage and snap photos for their social media coverage. They were also provided with complimentary hair touch-ups.

A couple of hours later, all guests were ushered into the massive space behind the black curtains at the cocktail reception. This huge room was decorated for the three-course dinner ahead. The runway was set up in the middle of the room – it had a lot of multi-coloured lighting and a sparkling backdrop. The theme of the night was “magic”.

The ceremony hosts were the very charismatic Alain Laroche, L’Oréal Professionnel Canada’s director of professional development, and the energetic Tanya Chernova, who is a business coach, author and international speaker. Most of the ceremony was bilingual.

The evening was very eclectic and entertaining.

Eric Zemmour, a renowned L’Oréal Professionnel Artist, cut and styled the hair of several models live on stage. The audience was in awe of his artistic mastery, especially considering how quickly he was creating hair transformations on stage.

During the evening, magician Ekaterina Dobrokhotova was also showing live tricks on stage, alongside hypnotist Spidey. She interacted directly with the audience when she walked to each table later. A highlight by far was when she would let a guest pull a card without showing it to her, then hide it, take out a napkin and spritz some water onto it, only to have the symbol of the card appear on it! We are still trying to figure out that trick…

Two of the headlining acts at the gala.

Another exciting part of the evening was the Live Masters Competition, where expert hairstylists from across Canada styled the hair of models live on stage in 30 minutes.

Perhaps the most emotional part of the contest, however, was when the L’Oréal Color Trophy winners were announced. Winners literally jumped from their seats in excitement and many of them posted on Twitter, saying they cannot describe their happiness.

Winners were chosen in many categories throughout the night and prizes ranged from a training session in Paris to a cover photoshoot with an industry publication – Canadian Hairdresser Magazine. Awards were handed out to both individuals and salons.

Congratulations to all participants!