Into the fantasy world of the Bronner Bros. hair show with Cliff Vmir

Twice a year, the Bronner Bros. International Beauty Show captivates audiences with its signature outrageous hairstyling competition. We got celebrity hairstylist Cliff Vmir to tell us what it’s like.

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The Bronner Bros. International Beauty Show, a showcase held twice a year where extraordinary Black hair stylists gather, compete and discuss innovations in hair care, will take place August 17 to August 19 in New Orleans. And the signature event is always the spectacular and sometimes outrageous fantasy hairstyling competition, which often includes elements of costuming, dance, acrobatics and carnivalesque set decoration.

Many notable Atlanta talents will be making the trip to the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center to show off various hairstyling breakthroughs. The event, recently featured on the Netflix show We Are the Champions, promises to be bigger and bolder than ever.

“This is the biggest African American hair show,” said stylist Cliff Vmir in a recent interview. “Bronner is a big thing for the community. It’s a big fashion show and hair show; it’s where you network. Fans get to actually see you in person. I feel like it’s a big unity event.”

Vmir, also a Midtown Atlanta-based rapper originally from Wilmington, Delaware, who appeared on BET’s reality show Wig Out, attended his first Bronner Brothers event in Atlanta at age 16, when he was already an established artist.

“What struck me when I first went to the hair show were the fans and stuff,” Vmir said. “People would cry when they met me because they said I was such an inspiration to them. They wanted to be just like me. It was so bad, even at 16, I had to get security. The way those girls would act, you would think I was Beyoncé or something. I’m just a hairstylist. I couldn’t figure out why people were acting like this, but each year it got more crazy.”

Vmir said he intends to spend most of the weekend’s events at his booth, where his Femmé hair product line will be on sale. He is bringing a team of 15 people to assist. 

“When I was 16, I would go with my models pumping through with 6-inch high heels,” Vmir said. “Now I have a product line, and I’m eager to educate people on how to use them.”

On Monday, he will teach a master class to attendees of the event. The class will include sections on hair care, wig care, marketing, photography and business advice for professional stylists.

“I’ve never competed before,” Vmir said. “I’ve always judged different things, and I’ve also performed there as a rapper and taught classes. Normally, my booth is so crazy with fans that I can never get away from it.”

The Bronner Bros. Enterprise was founded as a company in 1947, specializing in Black hair care products. Its corporate headquarters remains in Atlanta, and most Bronner Bros. shows are held in Atlanta. The events now draw stylists from across the world.

The fantasy hairstyling competition, which is held Sunday, is the crowning event of the beauty show. During the competition, stylists such as four-time champion Terrence Davidson have one hour to construct some of the most elaborate, inventive and visually stunning sculptures and images from the hair atop their models’ heads. This year’s theme is “Royale Affair,” which should inspire Regency-era looks similar to Bridgerton’s Queen Charlotte.

“People can get so creative,” Vmir said. “It’s a wonderful thing, how the culture comes together to celebrate Black excellence.”

Vmir said he is also excited to attend other events, like the White Party and the Sunday brunch with other influencers and entrepreneurs. 

“For me, growing up surrounded by hair and working in the salon, it was always my dream to be as big as I am,” he said. “This always was my dream, though I felt like I was shooting for the stars whenever someone asked me what I wanted to be. When I said ‘celebrity hairstylist,’ people would laugh at me. Once I started making my dream a reality, people would say that they couldn’t believe I did it.”

The Bronner Bros. event will next be held in Atlanta in February 24 through February 26 at Georgia World Congress Center.

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Benjamin Carr is an ArtsATL editor-at-large who has contributed to the publication since 2019 and is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association, the Dramatists Guild, the Atlanta Press Club and the Horror Writers Association. His writing has been featured in podcasts for iHeartMedia, onstage as part of the Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Short Play Festival and online in The Guardian. His debut novel, Impacted, was published by The Story Plant.