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DA INSPIRE LIVE Finalist Interview

I want to surpass myself in the area competition of the Grand Prix Final.

マレーシアエリア・グランプリ：

CERES HAIR STUDIO

JUUN LAI

 

/ MASTER DESIGNER / 1986.12.5 Born

MALAYSIA Area

JUNN LAI from CERES HAIR STUDIO was crowned the Grand Prix Winner at the Malaysia Area Grand Prix. In order to make up for his lost in the first competition, this time he managed to earn himself a ticket to Japan. The cause of his defeat is firmly analyzed, and making use of these lessons in the next competition made me feel how high his level is. His unique conception of adopting ideas from social issues to hair designs is not something common in Japan.I had the oppurtunity to interview Junn on his sharing on the Area Grand Prix, his salon work routine, and his enthusiasm towards the Grand Prix Finale.

Ⅰ．Difference between participation in DA for the first and the second time.

--How many times will it be this time that you're participating in DA?

It will be my second time.

--What was your motivation when you first joined?

Before this, I have actually seen DA Japan from the internet. While the other competitions focus only on hair, but DA focuses on the overall such as make-up, clothing and etc. It's not just about designers' skills but also the consideration of total beauty. There is no such competition here in Malaysia.

--Did the power of total beauty seems attractive to you?

I have always wanted to participate in events like fashion shows, so to me DA is the one.

--How was the result like when you participate for the first time?

I do not know what is my official ranking, but I did not make it (laughs).

--You failed for the first time, but you won the Area Grand Prix the second time. What sort of improvement you did from the first reflection to the second?

I think that the first time I did not really understand the obejective of DA. My awareness towards total beauty was insufficient. As for the second time, I did thoroughly thought through the overall image from hair, clothing to make-up.

--Do you feel your salon work has upgraded after your participation in DA?

Yes, I do. Nowadays, I will ask my customers like "What kind of clothing do you usually wear?", "Skirts or pants?", "What kind of style do you like?" when comes to deciding hair designs. For example, if my customer tells me that she usually wears pants and for certain occasion she wears skirt, in that case I will make recommendation such as "If it's this hair design, you could curl like this or tie like this and this will change the ambiance." What I learned from DA is to look at the customer and to propose a design from there. What most of the salons often say is one-sided and it is merely based on the stylist's point of view such as "This style suits you better". I used to do that too, but now I don't.

--What needs do Malaysian customers have?

Most of them want to be beautiful, yet prefer an easy to maintain way. It is contradictory though (laughs).

--That is the same in Japan (laughs).

Therefore, we will create a style that can be easily maintained at home by slightly reducing the level of beauty that customers want. Most of the customers love to curl on their own, so I will teach them how to do simple curls and let them know that it will be even more beautiful by doing this.

Ⅱ．Looking back at the area competition

--DA's theme is about REALITIVE. How do you cope with this?

I think DA is a challenging competition. We create a whole new C design by combining the A and B panels. Most of the competitions end after completing and submitting A design photo works. DA is not like this. That's why it's difficult.

--Is the REALITIVE way of thinking leads to your salon work?

Well, it's case by case. It depends on the customer as some might think that REALITIVE is overly fashionable. It's not a style that can be accepted by most Malaysians. Aren't there such issue in Japan?

--The same goes for Japan. The capacity is different depending on customer and those with higher range of acceptance they can accept but no for those who can't accept. However, most cases in Japan is that they try to balance the REALITIVE look to suit their customer's look.

That's right. it's the same.

--Yes. Could you please share your explanation on A,B and C?

A reference comes from actual fashion show. The point here is the contrast between the color and overall ambiance.

--How about B panel?

B is a style that I really wanted to create, and it has something to do with social issues too. When I participated for the first time, I used a lot of stickers on the face to create my masterpiece. That is to express the experience that that person did not get during his/her childhood days. This time, my model is diagnosed with cancer and there are many people like her seeking beauty still. I wanted to deliver this message to those who are suffering, to not give up yourself and seek beauty.

--The idea of applying the social issues idea into your design is very impressive! Everyone shall be equal in terms of beauty. What about C?

This model is also someone who is diagnosed with an incurable disease. Can you tell that there is no hair around her ears?

--I've just noticed that now.

I have implemented the idea of the A panel actual trend and B panel social issues on this model. On the day of the competition itself, I've actually cut the top part to connect it with the areas around the ear which does not have hair .

--Very cool design.

Thank you (laughs).

--The movement of the hair strands in all 3 hair styles are remarkable. Is such design your forte?

If there is no such strands of movement, the style will look stiff. The soft ambiance of women will not be seen. Women has a soft and gentle side no matter how strong they are, that's why if you create a stiff style, you will not be able to bring out the femininity side.

Ⅲ．Determination for the Grand Prix Final

--Please share with us how did you feel when you won the Grand Prix?

I was very happy. It felt like a dream. I actually knew about this DA competition since 2013. However, at that time there is no MILBON in Malaysia, so even though I want to participate but I couldn't. After that Milbon Malaysia was established and I am happy enough to be able to participate in DA, what's more is to be crowned as the area Grand Prix and to me it was a great honor.

--I am so happy to hear that too. I hope DA will bring more contribution to the Malaysian beauty industry.

DA is a competition that can be more challenging than any other competitions. I have been in this industry for the past 15 years and I have participated in various competitions. In fact, when one reaches my career stage, almost none are willing to participate in competitions. But I think even for veterans it's worth joining.

--Even now in Japan DA, there is an increase in veteran's participation. Why? This is because hair designers' job is to continuously polish their senses and the veterans began to realize that. Last year in Japan, there were more than 800 designers participations.

That's right. I would like to see similar situation in Malaysia.

--You will head to Japan for the Grand Prix Final in July. Are there any things that you plan to prepare or strive for in this remaining period?

Recently I have been interested in social issues. I'm looking for inspirations from there. To me, A is not really difficult, but for B, I want to express my thoughts, that's why it's a part that I want to put emphasis on. I hope to convey the meaning of B and to let people know that this is actually happening in reality.

--Please tell us about your passion towards "Of The Year".

I want to surpass myself, not others. I want to grow more than when I got the Area Grand Prix. I think that the effort placed in that will be my source of growth.

--Keep going! Thank you very much.

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