The North American Hairdressing Awards has honored Antoinette Beenders as its 2025 Legendary Icon, paying tribute to a prolific career of sophisticated, experimental, and boundary-pushing hair, makeup, and fashion.
Beenders, the Senior Vice President of Global Artistry for Aveda, accepted the award “with a heart full of gratitude and humility” before a packed crowd at the Chapin Theater in Orlando, FL.
"This recognition reflects the collective passion and creativity of the incredible teams and individuals I've had the privilege to work with throughout my career,” said the Dutch-born creative leader.
Of Beenders’ decades-long career, 28 years have been spent with Aveda, bringing the brand’s bold, unapologetic artistry to life through visually powerful campaigns and collections.
Known for her zeal, energy, and perfectionism as leader of both Aveda’s Fashion Week styling team and its Global Artistic Team, Beenders has encouraged her mentees to challenge trends and shift perceptions of mainstream beauty.
The teams’ campaigns, collections, and fashion looks have sprung throughout the years from Beenders' seemingly bottomless well of visual inspiration: punk rock, clowns, ghostly Victorian figures, 18th century aristocracy, sea creatures. They’ve lately been marrying real with robot via state-of-the-art technology including animation and AI.
Beenders’ influence at Aveda and its parent company, Estée Lauder Companies, extends beyond editorial photoshoots and Fashion Week glam to encompass educational initiatives, marketing campaigns, and product innovations.
She’s fostered partnerships with likeminded fashion designers who share Aveda’s eco-friendly ethos, including Stella McCartney and Iris van Herpen — not just conceptualizing their runway looks, but in the case of van Herpen and Phillip Lim, collaborating to bring couture to Aveda’s holiday gift collections.
As Corporate Creative Director of Estée Lauder, Beenders also oversees graphic designers, copywriters and other commercial artists. In that capacity, she’s among a scant few Creative Directors to have won awards in decidedly non-beauty-related categories such as packaging and printing.
Among the numerous prestigious accolades Beenders has racked up over her career, the NAHA title marks the second time an international industry body has named her Icon of the Year.
In 2024, the Australian Hair Fashion Awards bestowed the title on her, the first woman so honored in the organization’s history.
Beenders was also the first solo woman to win British Hairdresser of the year (2004) and the only person ever named twice as Fellowship Hairdresser of the Year (in 2000 and 2003).
A photographer’s daughter from a small town in the Netherlands, Beenders has said she never lost her enthusiasm, curiosity, and playfulness.
“This industry thrives on passion, creativity, and resilience,” Beenders told the crowd in Orlando, “and I urge each of you to keep dreaming, keep pushing, and know that your time will come.”