The Contessa awards are by far one of the most anticipated events of the year and this year was nothing short of fabulous. The crowd, which consists of Canada’s most talented hairstylists, make-up artists, and nail gurus, brought a contagious energy to the Westin Harbour Castle.

Performances and runway shows entertained guests who, once again, enjoyed a 3 course meal and a spectacular swag bag full of hair products to help everyone achieve their hair goals.

This year’s menu included:

Appetizer: Whole leaf cucumber salad with spun carrots, pickled onions and sweet sesame ginger dressing.

Main: Wild mushroom stuffed chicken breast with warm potato salad, roasted carrots, grilled scallion and maple bourbon jus.

Vegetarian option: Roasted pepper and asiago stuffed gnocchi with green beans, olives and tomato salad.

Dessert: Classic lemon tart with fresh berries and torched meringue.

We had a chance to interview Salon Magazine’s Yasmin Grothe about the future of hair, and how this year’s theme came to be.

Metropolis 5: How did you come up with this year’s theme? What is “Future” representing?

Yasmin Grothe: Every year, our team gets together to come up with a new creative theme for Contessa. This time the goal was to integrate the idea of technology and the digital landscape, which permeate our entire lives today and obviously the world of beauty as well, with the incredible amount of pictures that are posted daily to all social media channels globally.

M5: What futuristic hairstyles do you see being a hit in 2017?

YG: Pastels are becoming a colour category within themselves. Those shades are definitely here to stay and not just a fleeting trend. We’re also going to see a lot more metallics in 2017 because of the changing demographics of Canada. The whole “fitness movement” and athleisure lifestyle will allow textured to continue gaining momentum.

M5: What do you think the biggest hair trend for 2016 was?

YG: Beach hair waves and balayage ( also called hair painting) were certainly huge in the last year. My Instagram feed was bursting with pictures from both hairstylists and celebrities sporting the sexy look. It was fresh, easy and very feminine. Everybody looked good with it, and it permitted colourists and stylists to express their creativity in a much more ‘free’ and intuitive fashion.

M5: What is one look you are excited to see go away?

YG: I’m definitely relieved to see the man bun with the big, bushy beard disappear into oblivion. It always looked messy and unkept in real life.

M5: How would you describe a Contessa award to someone who isn’t familiar with what it represents?

YG: A Contessa award is the ultimate honour any beauty professional in Canada can hope to win. It is one of North America’s most prestigious awards in the salon industry, and the longest running hair competition in Canada (it was launched in 1988.)

Winning a Contessa means you’ve made it big in the professional beauty industry. It really doesn’t get any better!

 

A portion of the Contessa ticket sales and sponsorship revenue goes to Beauty Gives Back, a non-profit organization that helps women deal with appearance related effects of cancer treatments.