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#SALON26 SALON LIVES

FROM PRECISION CUTTING AND CREATIVE COLOUR TO AVANT-GARDE ARTISTRY, THE BRAND NEW SALON LIVES SAW SOME OF HAIRDRESSING’S BIGGEST NAMES BRING EDUCATION, INNOVATION AND INSPIRATION TO THE STAGE

New for 2026, Salon Live brought a bold new creative platform to Salon International, taking over a purpose-built 700-seat auditorium on the show floor. Audiences experienced hair artistry on a whole new scale, as industry icons showcased precision cutting, directional styling and boundary-pushing creativity through a series of high-impact performances. Alongside spectacular hair moments, visitors gained practical techniques, fresh perspectives and plenty of inspiration to take back to the salon floor.

RICHARD ASHFORTH
SASSOON
SASSOON
SASSOON
MARK HAYES

SASSOON

Sassoon Academy took audiences on a journey through contrasts, exploring strength and softness, masculine and feminine, austerity and glamour. Precision cutting sat alongside movement and irreverence, with the team demonstrating how technique can be used creatively rather than simply for technique’s sake. Precision cutting, layering and disconnection were combined with different approaches to creating movement, while colour was used to enhance the haircut or create deliberate contrast against the shape. Strong, graphic styling featured dark jewel tones of red, green and blue alongside black, with tailoring, lace and sheer elements reinforcing the contrast between austerity and sensuality. As Mark Hayes Senior International Creative Director explained: “Salon Lives give us the chance to show not just the finished result, but the thinking and technique that goes into creating it.”

JACK HOWARD
JACK HOWARD
JACK HOWARD
JACK HOWARD
JACK HOWARD

JACK HOWARD

L’Oréal Professionnel Ambassador, Jack Howard is a global hair colour icon and brought more than three decades of colour expertise to the Salon Live stage with a showcase focused on rethinking how salons approach grey and white hair. Through live demonstrations, Jack explored French Blending as a modern approach to colour, showing how working with the client’s natural white hair could create sophisticated, personalised results rather than simply covering it. The session offered practical insight into creating contemporary colour services that could help salons reconnect with and inspire their white hair clientele, while demonstrating Jack’s signature approach to light, tone and dimension.

TONI&GUY
COS SAKKAS
TONI&GUY
TONI&GUY
TONI&GUY

TONI&GUY

Led by CEO Sacha Mascolo-Tarbuck and Global Creative Director Cos Sakkas, TONI&GUY’s International Artistic Team delivered an immersive Salon Live showcase exploring the breadth of the brand’s creative world, from precision cutting and colour to fashion and avant-garde artistry. The show opened with the launch of ‘Our World’, TONI&GUY’s new global brand campaign and creative platform, before unveiling ‘TONI&GUY Elements’, an academy collection inspired by the spirit of the 90s and combining lived-in texture, expressive colour and modern cutting techniques. The showcase also explored the brand’s work at London Fashion Week and the relationship between professional hair and fashion, alongside a 'Hair Like LABEL.M' presentation highlighting product, texture and movement. The show culminated in a striking avant-garde finale of sculptural shapes, bold silhouettes and boundary-pushing design, bringing together technical expertise and creative expression.

This article appears in November 2026

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This article appears in...
November 2026
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