L’Oréal Professionnel is expanding its involvement in the fashion industry, leading hairstyling backstage at four shows during the Spring 2027 Paris Fashion Week season. The move highlights the brand’s commitment to connecting professional hair artistry with fashion while showcasing its products, technology and creative expertise.

“The brand has had a longstanding partnership with fashion,” said Claire Le Bleis, global brand president of L’Oréal Professionnel. “So this time we wanted to be here for the Paris Fashion Week, but be here our way.”

As part of the initiative, the company created Transformation Backstage, a dedicated space in Paris’ 11th arrondissement where celebrities and influencers receive professional hairstyling services. The project reinforces the brand’s belief that hair is an integral part of fashion, deserving the same attention as clothing and accessories.

The backstage experience is also being shared through social media content featuring styling advice, tutorials and emerging trends for both professional hairstylists and consumers.

L’Oréal Professionnel has partnered with Courrèges, Mugler, Weinsanto and Pressiat for the season. According to Le Bleis, the collaborations reflect the brand’s interest in supporting designers who challenge traditional fashion conventions and bring distinctive creative perspectives to the industry.

The brand’s hairstylists work alongside designers to develop looks that complement their collections. Fashion show backstages also provide an opportunity to test products under demanding conditions, including repeated styling, heat exposure and tension on the hair. Its Flex Pli spray is currently being tested in this environment.

L’Oréal Professionnel backstage at Courrèges Photo by Romain Guédé / Courtesy of L’Oréal Professionnnel

Transformation drives brand strategy

Transformation has become a defining element of L’Oréal Professionnel’s strategy under Le Bleis. The concept was central to Transformation Day, an event held on April 26 at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris.

The gathering brought together 100 celebrities and influencers from the beauty, fashion and hairstyling industries across 20 countries, including India, Brazil, China and the United States. With a combined following exceeding 150 million, participants collaborated with professional hairstylists to create live hair transformations that generated more than 127 million social media views.

The event showcased the brand’s expertise in hair care, styling and color technology.

On April 27, L’Oréal Professionnel hosted a livestreamed Tech Talk master class, giving hair professionals an opportunity to learn the techniques behind the transformations. The session attracted 24,000 viewers from 65 countries.

The brand now organizes these educational sessions several times a year, using them to expand access to professional knowledge and encourage the exchange of expertise across markets.

Le Bleis said the initiative reflects the company’s broader ambition to inspire consumers to experiment with their appearance while ensuring that transformations are achieved safely and professionally.

Founded in 1909 following the development of an early hair dye, L’Oréal Professionnel has built its business around the concept of transformation. Its portfolio covers hair color, care, styling and professional tools, allowing it to offer solutions across the entire hair transformation process.

The company is also developing hybrid products that combine different categories, including formulas that merge hair care with styling or texture benefits. Le Bleis described technological innovation and research as fundamental to the brand’s identity rather than short-lived industry trends.

International expansion and premium hair care

Having surpassed €1 billion in sales, L’Oréal Professionnel continues to contribute to the growth of its parent company. L’Oréal’s Professional Products division, which includes the brand, was an important contributor to the group’s overall performance in the second quarter of 2026.

The brand’s focus on transformation also reflects changing consumer behavior, particularly among younger audiences who increasingly engage with hair makeovers and styling content online.

“Transformation is really something that has become the dominant language for hair,” Le Bleis said, highlighting the popularity of transformation-focused content on social media.

She identified expansion, innovation and communication as the three complementary pillars of the brand’s strategy.

While France and Europe remain its traditional markets, L’Oréal Professionnel has strengthened its global presence over the past five years. France, India and the United States are currently its three largest markets, while India and Brazil are among its leading growth contributors.

Emerging markets account for approximately 30 percent of the brand’s turnover. The company continues to pursue opportunities in Europe, particularly among Gen Z consumers and men, while expanding its reach in China and other international markets.

Its distribution strategy has evolved alongside this expansion. Once primarily a business-to-business brand serving salons and hair professionals, L’Oréal Professionnel now operates across both professional and direct-to-consumer channels, with each contributing a relatively equal share of its business.

Over the past four years, the brand has nearly doubled its hair care business, becoming the second-largest hair care brand within the L’Oréal portfolio after Kérastase.

Le Bleis attributed this performance to continued growth in salons and professional distribution, alongside the expansion of direct consumer sales.

She remains optimistic about the premium professional hair care market, viewing it as a long-term growth opportunity rather than a passing trend.

The potential is particularly significant in emerging economies. According to Le Bleis, the ratio of professional to mass-market hair care sales is approximately one to eight in India and Latin America, compared with one to four in mature markets such as Europe and the United States. These differences indicate opportunities to attract new customers and encourage consumers to trade up to premium products.

Product development shaped by salon professionals

Innovation remains central to L’Oréal Professionnel’s efforts to differentiate itself in the market. Le Bleis said products are developed and tested through technical protocols, with hairstylists involved throughout the process to ensure that innovations address real salon needs.

The Metal Detox range, for example, emerged from hairdressers’ concerns about hair breakage associated with chemical treatments.

Its mask has become the brand’s best-selling mask, according to Le Bleis, and leads the professional hair care mask category in Europe and China.

The company continues to introduce services that offer new approaches to professional coloring. French Blending is designed to soften harsh regrowth lines and create multidimensional color, while No Bleach French Highlights, introduced during the summer, provides another option for achieving highlighted effects.

Le Bleis said the brand’s ambition is to challenge established practices and make previously difficult hair transformations possible through technical advances.

AI and digital education expand industry access

L’Oréal Professionnel is also using digital tools to strengthen its relationship with hairdressers and improve access to professional education.

Launched during the COVID-19 pandemic, L’Oréal Access is an online training platform that reached 1.5 million users in the first half of 2026. The initiative enabled the brand to expand its educational offering beyond traditional training environments.

Its Tech Talks feature leading hairstylists sharing techniques and expertise through free, long-form presentations. AI-powered translations make the sessions accessible to a broader international audience.

The brand is also incorporating AI into its visual communications, enhancing traditional before-and-after presentations featuring real models to create more immersive content.

For Le Bleis, these efforts reflect a responsibility that extends beyond product development and sales. By investing in technology, education and collaboration with salon professionals, L’Oréal Professionnel aims to help shape the future of the industry.

“We consider that we are not just here to serve our clients, we are here to serve the profession,” she said.