//  ARTIST  //

Nadia Semanic is an enigmatic storyteller, an engineer of exquisite characters who exist in the wonderlands of her imagination. The fabric of her narration is hair, a fiber that she first became aquatinted with as an acclaimed stylist in a high-performing salon, before finessing her hair fashion aesthetic with international superbrand TONI&GUY. Nadia is an Australian born, Melbourne based artist. She is internationally recognised, with five awarded Avant Garde collections and a total of 30 works in her repertoire. She is continuously working on new collections while her volume of work grows.

From the very beginning of her career Nadia was earmarked as an inventor. She was an artist with colossal creative force whose insatiable thirst for original colours, textures and composition led her into the world of Avant Garde. Whilst keeping her feet on the salon floor she began to explore hairdressing as a true artisan, an artist who felt most content within the realms of hand-made and hand-crafted design. With an inviolable fixation on intricate detailing, Nadia spends hours hand knotting her own wigs, as well as hand crafting and designing fine art head wear, always with her detailed sketches at hand to guide her.

Always evolving and constantly developing her skills with the medium of hair, Nadia is an artist who is creating a new and unique form of art pushing the boundaries of what this material can do. With a personal M.O focused on obtaining equilibrium between artistic experimentation and current cultural relevance. Whilst maintaining her role as an Art Director and National Artistic Team member for TONI&GUY, Nadia commences her venture into the broader art world as a multi award winning artist, expanding her invitation for collaboration to Art Exhibitors, Costume Designers and Creative Directors in Fashion, Theatre and Film who are seeking a sculptor of hair. 

Whilst the early years were spent playing without parameters, in 2014 after a successful dabble with the Californian born RAWards claiming the title of RAW Artist of the Year, Nadia introduced her work to the international stage via the Australian Hair Fashion Awards.  Her inaugural collection Parasomnia won her a spot on the finalist podium and perhaps more importantly a creative introduction to Avant Garde pioneers Angelo Seminara and Indira Schauwecker. It would be a meeting that would not only assert her position as an indisputable visionary, but would also light a beacon for Australia on the world stage.   

In 2015, Nadia took a definitive path into what may now be recalled as her ‘Whimsical period’ where her overriding aesthetic was heavily infiltrated by organic textures and effervescent framing. Nadia’s collection Mortale est revealed a pre-occupation with the Renaissance period as well as an explicit use of symbolism, in this instance to relay themes of mortality. Nadia’s collection captivated the judging panel and saw her awarded with her first AHFA Avant Garde Hairdresser of the Year Award.

Whilst Nadia’s aesthetic continued to exist in a world of the uber-tactile and multi-dimensional, her quest to create new shapes and patterning moved into top gear. Observing the inundation of flocking and embossing into a multitude of fashion houses, the courageous artist set to work on bringing these trending techniques to life via the medium of hair. The Enchanting struck an exquisite balance of fairytale meets fashion, composed by an artist who was now providing not only spellbinding images but sophisticated commentaries on popular culture via her ideation reveal. The Enchanting provided Nadia with a consecutive win as AHFA Avant Garde Hairdresser of the Year and cemented her as a leader in innovation at the age of 25. 

Nadia’s 2017 collection Subterrenea was a collection produced by an artist with ‘unfinished business’ in the realms of her previous body of work. Still drawn to the palette of the Baroque / Renaissance period, the strong use of carmine, azurite, vermillion and carbon black permeated the earthy storyboard. The collection was stronger in shape via the use of geometrical shapes yet in contrast included delicate manipulation of hair through advanced stitching and weaving techniques. This collection also included other materials accompanying the hair including the delicate use of gold leaf and stained glass, which was prompted by Nadia’s love of Alexander McQueen’s current RTW. The collection was nominated as a finalist but missed out on first place, this brought the end of Nadia’s whimsical period and a new phase began. 

Apollinaire marked a bold move into a new epoch for Nadia who approached her fifth collection with a high fashion meets high art creative direction. Named after the French poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the collection pays reverence to his artistic collaborator Pablo Picasso, and stylistically salutes Dutch designers Viktor and Rolf. Displaying clear themes of cubism and surrealism within the hair design, complimented by relaxed tailoring and soft drapery by local Australian fashion label et al, Nadia maintains total respect for artistry whilst revealing a firm grasp of Haute Couture.