Fashion week joy for Wigan hair stylists

Gemma Norton, owner of Bijou hair salon, Wigan, and Jodie Grove, left, have been selected to work behind the scenes at London Fashion Week

Two hair stylists from Wigan have been chosen to work behind the scenes at the London Fashion Week.

From Thursday, they will style the models’ hair during one of the most famous clothing trade shows in the world.

The London Fashion Week takes place in the capital twice a year, and showcases more than 250 designers to a global audience of influential media and retailers - it’s one of the ‘big four’ fashion weeks, along with New York, Milan and Paris.

When Gemma Norton and Jodie Grove entered the Toni and Guy Academy audition in Manchester, competing against other talented hair stylists for a place in London Fashion Week backstage session team, they didn’t think they would get the chance to take part in such an iconic event.

Gemma. 38, who is a salon owner at Bijou Hair Salon in Wigan, said: “I entered the Audition thinking ‘it will be just a bit of fun’, a new experience for Jodie and me, I never thought we would actually win. It was a really stressful audition, we worked on so many different hair styles and showed all sorts of techniques we are capable of.

“It was such good fun, and when we received an email the day after, saying we got in, were couldn’t be more excited.”

Jodie, who is 23 and has been working for the salon for seven years now, has never been to London before and this opportunity will mean visiting the city for the first time and working as an hair stylist at one of the most important fashion shows on the planet.

Gemma added: “Jodie wanted to take part in more competitions, so I took her with me on this audition.

“We are very excited for the whole experience, I expect it will be extremely busy and a massive eye-opener.”