BRIGHT LIGHTS OF MADRID

ALFAPARF Milano Professional’s networking event in Madrid in October saw 150 hairdressers from Ireland and the UK travel to the Spanish capital

Over 1,500 hairdressers from across Europe, including a 150-strong contingent from Ireland and the UK, attended ALFAPARF Milano Professional’s four-day creative and networking event in Madrid on 5-8 October.

The group was spread across four different hotels in the Spanish capital, with the Irish and UK contingent staying at the Hotel Meliá Castilla. After a travel day and welcome drinks on Saturday night, Sunday was spent exploring the sights, sounds and shopping Madrid has to offer, before the main event on Sunday evening at WAH Madrid.

WAH Madrid is a purpose-built venue inspired by Vegas and Broadway. An immersive 360-degree experience, it combines music, entertainment, dinner and a party finale.

After dining on traditional Spanish cuisine, the group moved into the WAH Theatre for the sit-down per formance, which began with a show created by ALFAPARF Milano Professional global creative director Rudy Mostarda

Against a backdrop of visual effects, and accompanied by dancers, singers and musicians, Mostarda appeared on an elevated platform to do a series of haircuts on a number of models, to emulate the brand’s new Walk on the Bright Side collection.

“This is a collection that allows us to look to the future with renewed optimism,” he said. “The keywords are lightness, imagination, elegance and light, and the combination of tradition, simplicity and innovation allows us to convey sophistication.

“The world is a stage, and we are the actors entering and exiting the scene.

For this collection, we imagine ourselves together in the spotlight, each illuminated by our own personality and character. I believe that a person’s style is that certain something that is never extinguished, even when no one is looking.”

Mostarda’s production was followed by the WAH show itself, which featured an array of per formers, who took the audience through the history of music, drawing on multiple references, from classical and opera, to The Beatles and Lady Gaga. The night then finished in the ‘club’ section of the venue.

‘This trip provided our Irish and UK customers with an incredible opportunity to connect with the broader European ALFAPARF Milano Professional family in the vibrant city of Madrid’

Monday was an opportunity for more sightseeing, followed by a private group dinner in the L’albufera restaurant in the hotel.

“This trip provided our Irish and UK customers with an incredible opportunity to connect with the broader European ALFAPARF Milano Professional family in the vibrant city of Madrid,” said David Donnellan, managing director, Xpert Professional UKI.

“Networking and exchanging experiences as hairdressers and salon owners are vital to our industry’s success, and there was ample time to forge new friendships and rekindle old ones. A standout moment was gathering 1,500 members of the European ALFAPARF Milano Professional family at WAH Madrid for Rudy’s show, which was filled with stunning hair, dazzling lights, dancing and music. It was a truly unforgettable experience!”