On day two of fall 2023 Denver Fashion Week, the Southwest Hairstyling Awards took center stage, elevating the beauty and innovation of the fashion industry to unprecedented heights. Hairstylists from all throughout the region displayed their creativity and skills in the vibrant atmosphere of Mile High City — turning the runway into an amazing exhibition of artistry and technique.
The 2023 Southwest Hairstyling Awards (SWHA), a highly anticipated segment of Denver Fashion Week, celebrated the unsung heroes of the beauty industry. These talented hairstylists, often working behind the scenes, took the spotlight to demonstrate that hairstyling is not just a profession but a form of art.
READ: Denver Fashion Week Partners With Southwest Hairstyling Awards
The SWHA’s Chief Executive and Producer, Lynda Elle Baker, gave a fantastic introduction to kick off the evening. After that, it was turned over to Geno Chapman, the night’s MC, who got the audience excited about all the incredible awards and artwork that was being shown off on the runway.
H+Art of Fashion
The first artists to appear on the runway were Colorado Springs’ Dakota Malacara and H+Art of Fashion. An expressive spectrum of hues, encompassing a variety of green, blue, purple, red, and pink tones. Each model wore an understated touch of ombre-colored fabric, allowing their hairstyles to steal the show. Each hairdo was meticulously created using braids, color, texture, and even hair accessories like textiles, seashells, and pins.
Carlos Carreon
The second runway show was presented by Carlos Carreon of Boulder, Colorado. A fantastic show of men’s haircuts, with a showcasing of leather, black, and gray outfits. But the hairstyles and the various haircuts were colorful, sharp, and voluminous — showing that even men’s haircuts can have variety and volume. Carlos Carreon was also a finalist for the Barber Stylist of the Year award for the 2023 Southwest Hairstyling Awards.
Ebony Underground
The vibrant Ebony Underground presented a line of art titled “Kaleidoscope” that draws inspiration from the colors, forms, and prisms used to see art via a kaleidoscope.
“For the outfits of the night, paired with the hairstyles, we went with the texture of the kaleidoscope, the straight look, and the afro embrace,” said James Mucker, one of the creative designers behind this collection. These vivid hairstyles and ensembles, a variety of textures, teased, afroed, and feathered hair, stunning braids and buns, and an overall rainbow spectrum highlighted these runway looks.
Paul Mitchell the School of Denver
The following runway event included a group of gifted students and future hairstylists from Paul Mitchell the School of Denver, also known as “the future of hairstyling.” A collection of gifted young artists displayed every type of hairstyle imaginable, including colored hair, braids, and slicked-back looks with clips — a remarkable display of gifted young artists.
Ira Pop Sage
Ira Pope Sage won the Independent Educator of the Year Honoree Award for his amazing work teaching the artistry of hairstyling all over the country. Sage’s runway show, with the help of the colorful work from La Adorna, Sage’s hairstyles showed off the colorful work on real hair. With different cuts, textures, and colors, Sage said, “I’m showing the togetherness of the universe. Because it’s a situation where all the bits and pieces came together from friendships, and aligning my own mantras and mindsets.” Sage also did all of his work in a week, all put together by a sense of “going with the flow and being like water.”
Aveda Southwest Team
The Aveda Southwest Team also gave a brief runway presentation featuring some amazing contemporary hairstyles. It made for a stunning display of art, with vibrant patterns sprayed and painted into hair. The hairstyles were bright and tidy, along with blazers, sparkles, and vibrant outfits.
Peter Gray + PG Zoo
The last show on the runway to wrap up this amazing night was from Peter Gray and the PG Zoo. This collection featured five fantastic models that sported hair pieces completely made from millinery wire.
“We were inspired by the look of exoskeletons, and the Pompidou Center in Paris, all the insides on the outside,” Gray said.
Each is inspired by a different era or fashion icon, an old-school 40’s-50’s summer hat, Thierry Mugler, a ‘Campy’ Stetson, a top hat inspired by Erykah Badu, and a Philip Tracy-inspired creation. Each of these pieces took an incredible amount of time and patience, being handmade, and molded with dust cans and even clocks, to create the irregular shapes. The bright, neon, primary colors shone on the runway, paired with black leather, cowboy fringes, and chaps. Keeping the hairstyles underneath simple yet sexy and classy, these looks were an edgy, interactive, stunning presentation of art on the DFW runway.
The Southwest Hairstyling Awards on day two of Denver Fashion Week proved to be a celebration of artistic expression, pushing the boundaries of hairstyling and redefining beauty standards. As the applause echoed through the venue and the lights dimmed on the runway, it was evident that these hairstylists had succeeded in making a lasting impression on the ever-evolving landscape of fashion and beauty. The Southwest region’s hairstyling talent had certainly earned its moment in the spotlight, leaving a lasting impact on Denver Fashion Week 2023.
All photos by Adam Ripplinger
Southwest Hairstyling Award Winners
Master Hairstylist of the Year 2023- Chrystofer Benson
Influencer of the Year Honoree- Carlos Rojas
The Barber Stylist of the Year 2023- Claudia Lucatero
Textured Hairstylist of the Year 2023- Tyler Kelbert
Avant Garde Hairstylist of the Year 2023- Dallan Flint
Artistic Team of the Year 2023- Color Space Hair
Lifetime Achievement Award Honoree- Beth Minardi
Hairstylist of the Year 2023- Jaimee Smith
Future Hairstylist of the Year 2023- Zibiah Ellie Mendozah