Emiliano Vitale, Creative Director of the award-winning é SALON in Wahroonga, Sydney, Australia has been awarded 2^nd place in the Best Photography category of the Association of International Professional Hairdressing Press (AIPP) Grand Trophy Awards, for his Transcendence collection.

A celebration of the best hair fashion collections from around the world, the AIPP awards are judged by a panel of hairdressing magazine editors, world-class hairdressers, and fashion photographers.

“I knew this collection was pretty special when we shot it with renowned photographer Kylie Coutts, and having it judged 2nd in the world for the Best Photography Award by the International Trade Press is just unbelievable,” says Emiliano.

“Initially to have three finalists out of the 5 categories was incredible and being the only salon in the world to be nominated in 3 categories was confirmation that all our hard work is paying off.”

In 2009 the AIPP Awards received 209 collections from salons in 21 countries around the world. é SALON’s nominations pitted them against the best in the business, including British & Australian Hairdresser of the Year winners, and definitely cements their position as an industry leader, both locally and internationally. The nominations included:

• Best Photography Award – Emiliano Vitale (for the collection composed of the best pictures from the point of view of variety and attention to detail)
• Best Men’s Collection – Marc Mendicino (in recognition of the marked increase in interest in men’s hair fashion)
• Best Video - é SALON Artistic Team (a video/clip no longer than 3 minutes promoting a hairdresser/hair fashion collection)

The AIPP Grand Trophy Awards were established in 1997, with the intention of the Grand Trophy Award being to recognize outstanding achievements by professional hairdressers in photography and presentation of their work.