She glances into the camera. She reminds you of a classic Grace Jones. Her hair, her bone structure, her piercing eyes transports you to the late 70’s.
Before you’re too mesmerized, you become fixed on the colours in her hair, its shape, and how much it reminds you of an architectural masterpiece. Perfectly juxtaposed: fierce but feminine, strong yet soft.
A feeling that can only be created by vision, craft, and mastery. One that won its creator the title, ITVA Creative Artist of the Year 2020.
Charles Junior Louw - Wella Master Colorist and owner of Hashtag Colour Lounge – was welcomed into the TrendVision hall of fame in March. In a career-making announcement, he became the first South African to win this category at Wella’s International TrendVision Award.
Charles Junior Louw
On a cold winter’s night in 1987, Charles Junior Louw made his debut on the world stage. A fitting arrival for a boy with personality larger than life.
Charles Junior Louw – ITVA Creative Artist 2020
His professional career was preceded by personal battles that taught him that perfecting something comes with practices, with refinement, and with the courage to persevere.
In 2019, Charles became a Wella Master Colorist and soon after he was invited to appear on national television and became a 6-week fixture on one of KFM’s morning shows, where he shared his love for hairdressing as well as hair tips with the listeners.
He is talented, bright, young, and not so dumb. This boy is certainly going places.
Debuting on the Wella world stage
Oh, the places he will go… For now, it’s remains a virtual stage until the national lockdown has been lifted. Unfortunately, the ITVA Creative Retreat was cancelled this year due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Sylvie Moreau, President of Coty Professional Beauty says, “I’ve seen the sense of unity and strength amongst hairdressers during this difficult time and knew that celebrating these winners was not only a well-deserved recognition of their amazing talent, but a source of positive news for us all,” She continued. “Charles Junior Louw and the other winners represent the crème de la crème of stylists, having been selected from over 9,000 entries."
The international Wella community has celebrated the 2020 winners through digital media and Charles has embraced the down time to relax and allow his creativity to flow.
Charles, in his interview with Estetica Magazine, published on 3 April 2020, says, “Yes, it might be lockdown now for most of us, but my advice is to relax as much as possible and enjoy the time that was given to us with your love ones. When the world starts moving again, we will be killing it with all our creative souls and new ideas.”
Read Charles’ full interview HERE.
Model Ideline Akimana
ITVA Creative Artist 2020 – An interview with Charles
Charles Junior Louw will join his international counterparts on the Destination Event stage in September 2020. This event, held in Gran Canaria, hosts the most revered mentors and talented hairdressers from across the world.
Winners of ITVA 2020 will share the stage with fellow creative artists and their hairdressing idols – the Destination Event Dream Team.
About Destination Event 2020
The Destination Event is an inspirational mini break for both the Wella and Kadus Professional hairdressing family. These 3-day retreats are filled with educational shows, Look & Learns, workshops, and exclusive super-stylist Q&A sessions.
We asked Charles to share his thoughts on winning ITVA Creative Artist of the Year 2020, the TrendVision journey and his love for the hairdressing craft.
Here is the exclusive:
What are you passionate about?
My passion is hair. The art behind it and achieving immaculate results.
Why did you choose hairdressing as a profession?
Between being raised in a salon and always watching makeover shows, I knew I was destined to do this one day.
How is your hairdressing style expressive of who you are?
I love doing makeovers. The type of clients that book with me are mostly transformations. I love colouring with her/his skin tone and eye colour in mind. And I love cutting according to facial features.
What would you like to say to hairdressers who are entering NTVA this year?
I would encourage you all to enter and not let an opportunity like this pass you in life. You never know where this might lead to…
What does it mean to you to have won ITVA Creative Artist 2020?
It means the world to me to have won ITVA. Unfortunately, I celebrated in isolation, I jumped up and down like a child on my bed screaming.
Which international artist do you most admire?
Stephen Moody
What inspired your winning look?
The vision I had was a vintage inspired Grace Jones. I wanted to create a soft feminine feel reflecting with a vintage filter. Basically, an architectural masterpiece.
Why did you choose Ideline Akimana as your model?
Choosing a model is very important. It's so important to get someone who will fit the brief of your vision. She shouldn't just be photographed well; she needs to walk well when doing the live show at the finals.
What was the most unexpected about the TrendVision journey?
I was told the country is not ready for me yet. Don't let other people get you down. I won NTVA which was totally unexpected. Something even more unexpected was winning ITVA, only to realise the world is actually ready for me.
What most excites you about the industry?
The thing that excites me the most about hairstyling is makeovers. I love seeing how happy people can be when they realise how beautiful they can look with the right hairstyle.
What would you caution TVA entrant against?
Make sure you follow the competition rules. The given colour pallet and the look that they are going for. The theme is so important.
What is something no one knows about you?
I suffer from OCD. As a child I had to get psychological help to not wash my hands anymore, because we need germs. Funny I mention it now being in the times we are with Corona.
About TrendVision 2020
TrendVision challenges, it pushes your creative limits but allows you to create something dreams are made of. It allows stylists to compete for the most coveted accolades in the hairdressing community
This year there’s been a shift in the definition of trends and the way Wella speaks about hair fashion. Trends are no longer concrete concepts and are not defined by a select few, but rather by whole communities.
Our TrendVision Awards 2020 competition follows the same principles. This year we expect competitors from each category to showcase their vision of what is trending, with an emphasis on highlighting individual beauty without a specified trend.
For your chance at one of five international titles, enter the National TrendVision Award.
More information can be found on the Modern Hair & Beauty website or contact us
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