The sixth annual awards were held in Lisbon, Portugal and attracted 56 of the best young stylists from around the world.

Each of them won at a national level to qualify for the major event.

There were two awards categories, one for young talent and one for colour.

Stephanie, the Australian Young Talent title holder, won bronze at the international competition in the same category.

The Young Talent competition is open to stylists aged 30 and under and each was asked to create their own interpretation of one of four themes on a model.

Stephanie’s Wonderland entry won the judges’ praise.

Everyone was assessed on creative vision and each stylist had to show an understanding of the trend, highlighting innovation and skill in colour work and styling.

Judges also explored each competitor’s mastery in fashion, accessorising and staging.

Sassoon International education director Stephen Moody, Catherine Rame from the global trends agency Carlin and the Wella Professionals Global creative directors Eugene Souleiman and Josh Wood were part of the judging panel.

Describing her entry as “raw, edgy and structured”, Stephanie’s creative eye and sense of style with the help of her make-up artist and stylist sister Laura Thomas and model Sam Godenzi, saw her oust 53 other stylists.

The winner was Fumiaki Sato from Japan while Hungary’s Péter Batki won the silver.

Thousands of stylists around the world applied to enter the competition.

This is the first time Stephanie had qualified and she was understandably proud of her achievement.

She has worked in the industry for 14 years and has been the Head Graffiti Hair and Beauty owner for five years.