Zhang also frequently attends Shanghai Fashion Week and Paris Fashion Week and learns a lot from French hairstylists. "From a technical perspective, Chinese hairstylists are already very skilled," he adds.

Alongside Zhang, Lyu Chuanping, a graduate student majoring in digital media art at the China Academy of Art, won the 3D Artist award at the 2023 L'Oreal Professionnel Style & Colour Trophy. Inspired by the Buddha statue in the grottoes in Dunhuang, Gansu province, Lyu combined traditional Chinese culture with modern virtual technology to create a magical effect.

For Zhang, the championship is a beginning. "I want young hairstylists to know that skill will always be the most important pillar supporting a long-term career," he says.