Swiss hairdresser Benôit Peschel was selected as the winner of the 2nd edition of “The Mentor – Best Emerging Talent” created by Estetica France in partnership with MCB by Beauté Sélection.
Two bustling workshops were vibrating with movement, anticipation, and the magic in the second edition of The Mentor. For this competition, 4 teams performed their best on stage, each for 20 minutes, accompanied by their respective mentor to showcase their talent. These eight candidates were able to hold the public spellbound for more than two hours!
Christophe Nicolas Biot’s team opened the competition with Yuta Uemeda who wowed the audience with their florals as well as François Laly, who fused his Marie Antoinette-like vision of manga. These beautiful exhibitions were followed by Elisabet Parra, managing editor of Estetica Spain, who presented the work of two Spanish stylists, Amparo Carratalá and Héctor Carvajal. These artists thrilled the audience and the four jury members, with a very progressive and intriguing method of pushing the boundaries while achieving very their technical masterpiece.
The jury consisted of makeup artist Morgane Hilgers, photographer Kay Smith, hairdresser Alain Zinzius, and stylist Bruno Guiot. All judged the achievements carefully, not hesitating to intervene on the techniques used and judging with great impartiality the creations of the eight international talents.
The team of Stephane Amaru invited the public to a different dimension of hairstyling by blurring the lines of art and fashion. Kevin Auger, in fact, chose an ‘haute coiffure’ creation while Benôit Peschel explored the world of lighting design by offering an alternative of inserting LEDs into the hair. The last team in the competition was mentored by hair icon Richard Ashforth who presented young stylists Sophia Hilton and Cliff CK. Sophia centered her work on the art of Shibari, while Origami, the Japanese art of folding, influenced the performance of Cliff CK.
After a combination of the public vote and the jury, the candidate Benôit Peschel, who lives in Switzerland, was selected as Best Emerging Talent 2015!
The Awards Ceremony took place on the main stage of the MCB in front of more than 1,000 people. Amongst extensive media coverage on Estetica Magazine, Christophe Gabreau, co-chairman of MCB by Beauté Sélection, offered Benôit Peschel the opportunity to perform a personal show at the next MCB hair show in Lyon. Receiving his trophy was also an opportunity to recall that art is an essential part in the career of a hairdresser and allows future generations to draw on the most beautiful profession.
Photos: Nicolas Villela
