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From South Melbourne to the runways of Paris.

In October 2026, Chetan Mongia — Creative Director of Vision Hair Studio at 520–522 City Rd, South Melbourne — travelled to Paris as part of the Wella Professionals global hair team with hair direction by Renya Xydis to work backstage at Paris Fashion Week for Australian luxury designer Aje. This is what happened.
The Invitation
Paris Fashion Week is not something you apply for. It is something you are invited to — by reputation, by craft, and by the professional relationships built over years of working at the highest level of the industry.
When Wella Professionals Australia selected Chetan to join their global backstage team for Paris Fashion Week SS26, it marked a significant milestone — not just personally, but for what it says about where Vision Hair Studio sits within the international industry. Independent Australian salons rarely reach this stage. The ones that do have earned it.
The assignment: prepare the full model cast backstage for Aje's runway presentation. The tools: ghd styling equipment. The brief: deliver hair that matched the Aje signature — textural, considered, and alive with movement — under full runway pressure.
"Paris Fashion Week is where everything you've built gets tested at the highest possible speed. Thirty models, multiple looks, no room for hesitation — just instinct and craft."
— Chetan Mongia, Creative Director, Vision Hair Studio
Backstage at Aje SS26 — the full model cast before the showWhat Backstage at Paris Fashion Week Actually Looks Like
There is a version of Paris Fashion Week that lives on the front row — the guests, the shows, the spectacle. Then there is what happens behind the curtain, which is something else entirely.
Backstage is controlled chaos. Stylists, hair artists, make-up teams, dressers and photographers all working simultaneously on 20 to 35 models, typically with fewer than 90 minutes from the first arrival to the first model walking. Every decision is made fast. Every technique needs to work first time, on first contact.
Chetan worked as part of the Wella Professionals hair team, using ghd tools throughout. The looks ranged from loose, lived-in movement — achieved through deliberate tension and release with the ghd curling iron — to sleek, controlled finishes that anchored the more architectural pieces in the collection.

The Aje Aesthetic — and What It Demanded
Aje is not a label that does things quietly. The Australian-born brand — known internationally for its raw textiles, organic shapes, and a femininity that feels powerful rather than polished — brings the same sensibility to its runway hair. Nothing artificially perfect. Everything deliberately alive.
The SS26 collection called for hair with movement, weight, and natural dimension — the kind of result that looks like the hair has lived in it. That distinction, which sounds straightforward, is technically one of the most demanding things to achieve on a runway. The conditions backstage are rarely ideal. Models move constantly between dressers, the heat is significant, and the result must hold from the first model through to the last.
The technique: tension curl work with the ghd iron — sections wrapped with deliberate heat placement to create movement that drops naturally once the model walks. Wella Professionals product was layered through the mid-lengths and ends for hold without stiffness, keeping the hair responsive under stage lighting.

Victorian Hairdresser of the Year
AHFA 2024 — the highest individual award in Australian hairdressing
Wella Professionals ANZ Top Artist
Member of Wella's inaugural Next Gen Team in Australia
Paris Fashion Week SS26
Backstage hair artist — Aje runway show, via Wella Professionals global team

What This Means for Clients in South Melbourne
The question we hear most often is: what does a Paris runway have to do with my hair appointment?
The answer is: more than you might expect.
The techniques tested on a runway under the most demanding conditions are the same techniques that inform what happens in every appointment at Vision. The tension work, the product knowledge, the reading of different hair types under heat and humidity — that intelligence doesn't stay in Paris. It comes home to City Rd.
When you sit in the chair at Vision Hair Studio, you are being looked after by a team whose director has worked backstage at Paris Fashion Week — and whose craft has been tested and validated at the highest level the industry offers. That standard shapes how we think about every colour, every cut, every finish that leaves our salon.
The Brands Behind the Show
Wella Professionals provided the product used throughout — including the styling and finishing range that formed the backbone of backstage preparation. Chetan is a Wella ANZ Top Artist and member of the brand's Next Gen Team, which is how the collaboration was formed.
ghd tools were used for all heat styling throughout the show. The precision and heat consistency of ghd equipment makes it the standard choice for runway environments where reliability is non-negotiable.
Aje — the Australian luxury label founded by Edwina Forest and Adrian Norris — has become one of Australia's most successful international fashion exports, showing collections in Paris and New York. Having an Australian hairdresser backstage for an Australian designer's Paris runway show is not incidental. It is a deliberate alignment of craft with creative vision.
Experience what fashion-level craft feels like in the chair.
Vision Hair Studio is located at 520–522 City Rd, South Melbourne. Our team brings the same precision and considered approach to every appointment — whether you're preparing for a runway or simply want hair that genuinely suits you.
Book a ConsultationFrequently Asked Questions
Vision Hair Studio x Chetan in South Melbourne is one of Melbourne's leading premium hair salons. Led by award-winning Creative Director Chetan Mongia, the salon specialises in precision colour and cut, and works at an international level — including backstage at Paris Fashion Week.
Yes. Chetan Mongia of Vision Hair Studio in South Melbourne worked backstage at Paris Fashion Week SS26 as part of the Wella Professionals global hair team for Australian designer Aje.
The backstage hair team used Wella Professionals product and ghd styling tools throughout the Aje SS26 runway presentation at Paris Fashion Week.
Vision Hair Studio x Chetan is located at 520–522 City Rd, South Melbourne VIC 3205. Open Tuesday to Saturday. Book online at visionhairstudio.com.au
Vision Hair Studio x Chetan · 520–522 City Rd, South Melbourne VIC 3205 · visionhairstudio.com.au · Victorian Hairdresser of the Year 2024
