THE owner of a York hair salon is celebrating success at a top industry awards ceremony.

Dannie Lea, who has a salon called Dannie Lea Hair & Beauty on Micklegate, as well as an out-of-town branch in Creepy Crawlies on Wigginton Road, bagged bronze for his colouring skills at the Wella TrendVision UK and Ireland finals.

The results were announced at a prestigious awards ceremony at London's Roundhouse, in Camden, hosted by TV personality Emma Willis and DJ Trevor Nelson.

Dannie said: "I'm buzzing! To come third in a major national competition is a huge deal for a small independent salon like ours.

"It's inspiring to be able to show the whole country that although we have lots of history and heritage in York, when it comes to creativity and innovation, we're leading the way."

Dannie's success came in the ColourVision category, which recognises 'Best in Class' colour work, with a focus on beautiful, wearable and inspiring hair.

His concept, based on the theme of androgyny, took inspiration from decades of musicians who have played with gender norms, from David Bowie in the 1970s to contemporary artist Janelle Monáe.

He said: "There's so much questioning of gender at the moment, with brands introducing unisex ranges and designers creating non-specific collections.

"It's really interesting, but I think the flipside is that people feel a slight loss of identity, which is why there's been such an explosion of bright hair colour, as they try to express themselves."

The national finals were held at the London Marriott, Regents Park, where Dannie had just three hours to complete his colour work, styling, finishing, clothes and make-up, before presenting his concept and techniques to judges.

Dannie didn't have to look far for his model, 21-year-old Izzy Smith, who is the daughter of the owners of sandwich shop, Cafe 84, just two doors away from Dannie's Micklegate salon.

During the evening, Izzy was approached by a model scout, so the competition may boost her career as well as Dannie's.

Dannie said: "It was a fantastic and inspirational event for the whole team to attend.

"We're all bursting with excitement about bringing even more fashion-forward but wearable looks to our clients in York."