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The Alternative Hair Show - The Alternative Hair Show is recognized as the world's most celebrated annual hairdressing event.

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Inspirational - The glittering show brings together leading inspirational hairdressers and artistic teams from across the globe.

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Artsy - Alternative Hair continually recognizes the artistry of global hairdressing and styling.

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Creative - It's all about showcasing beautiful hair, creativity, and craftsmanship.

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Innovative - Alternative Hair is set to a different theme every year, allowing for some truly innovative and left field artistic interpretation.

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Talented - While spotlighting established scissorhands, the event also offers a platform for emerging hairdressing talent.

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Photogenic - Running parallel to the runway shows is a hairdressing photographic and presentation contest.

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Impressive lineup - The lineup is always impressive. Previous teams include those headed by the UK's Anne Veck, Klaus Peter Ochs from Germany, Robert Cromeans from the US, and France's Cyrill Brune.

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Big names - Austria's Bundy Bundy, Gogen from Italy, and the Russian Dimitry Vinokuriv have also taken part.

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Tony Rizzo - The chairman and founder of Alternative Hair is Italian Tony Rizzo, one of Britain's leading hairdressers.

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Notorious - Rizzo founded the event for a number of reasons, including to progress the hairdressing industry and to indulge his passion for notoriously creative hairstyles.

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Devastating loss - But there's a far more sobering ulterior motive for developing Alternative Hair. Tony Rizzo and his wife Maggie lost their first child to leukemia. Devastated, the bereft couple decided to fight back against this dreadful disease.

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Raising money - In 1983, they staged the first Alternative Hair Show at London's Camden Theatre. The show was a success, raising £7,500 (US$11,250) on the night, which was promptly donated to Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research, the UK’s leading blood cancer research charity.

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Fighting Leukaemia - To date, Alternative Hair has raised over £12 million (about US$15.6 million) through Tony and Maggie Rizzo's charity, Fighting Leukaemia. Funds raised go towards providing valuable support for research projects and the scientists seeking a cure for blood cancers.

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Support program - In addition, the charity has established a support program for families with children suffering from leukemia.

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Funding projects - Currently, Fighting Leukaemia is overseeing funding projects with dedicated research programs taking place at London's Great Ormond Street Hospital, one of the world's leading children's hospitals.

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Worldwide presence - The charity is also present in Ethiopia and Cameroon—countries where cancer knowledge, treatment, and care lie far behind the UK.

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Global reach - Besides London, the hairdressing extravaganza has been hosted in Italy, Austria, Russia, South Korea, Japan, and the US.

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Sanrizz - Alternative Hair acts as a pleasant distraction for Tony Rizzo, whose primary job is as managing director of the Sanrizz hair salon empire, which he founded in 1980.

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Educational Academy - Rizzo has also established the globally renowned Educational Academy, which is housed within the Russel Square salon in central London.

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Vidal Sassoon - Standout moments from previous events include the time Vidal Sassoon agreed to be the Global Patron of Alternative Hair. The hairstyling legend gave a short presentation about his life and work during a show at London's Royal Albert Hall.

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The Alternative Hair International Visionary Award - Running in tandem with Alternative Hair is this stand-alone competition, which recognizes the most innovative and original hairdressers and stylists. The winners selected in each category are invited to appear at an award ceremony during Alternative Hair. Entry fees are, in fact, a direct donation to the Alternative Hair Charitable Foundation.

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Hard work - A workaholic of sorts, Tony Rizzo heads a small team responsible for setting up Alternative Hair. Duties include scouting venues, booking production teams, and organizing ticket sales.

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Planning and promotion - On top of this, there's planning the promotion and advertising, liaising with artistic teams, and contacting model agencies and choreographers.

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New venue - The 2019 edition of the Alternative Hair Show will be held at the ICC Auditorium at ExCel London.

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Eagerly anticipated -

Presented in association with Salon International, the show remains one of the most eagerly anticipated events on the global hairdressing calendar.

See also: Hollywood's hottest hairstyle: long and sleek!

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