The Crossover Competition, in collaboration with Luchmun Studios and hosted by Kevin Luchmun, brought barbers together to push their craft further and show what modern barbering looks like today.
Across 4-5 October, 2026 at Salon International, live competitions gave emerging and established talent the chance to test their skills under pressure.
The competition was split across three categories: Fast Fade, Creative Design, and Creative Cut, giving barbers at every level a space to showcase their strengths. Keep reading to learn more about how the competitions went down and who took home the trophies.
Fast Fade (Sunday 4 October, 3 - 4pm)
The Fast Fade Competition was designed to test technical precision, speed, and execution under pressure. Competitors were instructed to create the cleanest and most technically accomplished fade possible within the allotted 15 minutes.
Robert Silverstone was crowned the Fast Fade winner, owner of Barber's Barn in Staffordshire.
Creative Design (Sunday 4 October, 4 - 5 pm)
The Creative Design Competition celebrates artistic expression through hair. Competitors created a original clipper design that showcased creativity, technical skill and innovation in 30 minutes. The design should be clearly visible, well-balanced and technically clean, with strong attention to detail throughout.
The Creative Design winner was "Blade", founder of Blade Cuts in London with over 30 years of experience in the industry, having started cutting hair at age 14. Blade posted on Instagram: "The trophies speak for themselves...knowing all the hours, pressure, sacrifices and years of pushing my craft were worth it.
"This weekend at #SalonInternational was about so much more than competition...Two days of creativity, networking, meeting new faces, reconnecting with old ones and being surrounded by some serious talent in the industry."
Creative Cut (Monday 5 October)
Round 1 (12 -1 pm)
Round 2 (1:30 - 2:30 pm)
The Creative Haircut Competition was designed to showcase modern men's hairdressing and advanced scissor craftsmanship, all in 40 minutes. Competitors were asked to create a forward-thinking haircut, with focus on shape creation, texture, movement and personalised design. Lived-in, fashion-inspired cuts were encouraged, allowing competitors to demonstrate their understanding of contemporary men's hair.
The Creative Cut winner was Stefan Clark, a London-based barber and hair stylist known for his work at Murdock London and OS Lifestyle in Soho. Sharing the news on Instagram, he said "Buzzing to win the best creative cut... A privilege to be amongst so many talented barbers!
"Huge thanks to everyone involved!"
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