Salon Professional Academy Fashion Show

Last night, the Salon Professional Academy proved that they “Think Pink” as 24 of their students and staff walked the catwalk for the cause in “Through the Century,” a decades-inspired fashion show. The event was held in honor of the 10,000-square-foot salon’s recent national accreditation. The event was free and open to the public, but raffle stubs were sold to benefit the American Cancer Society.

Salon Co-owner Michael Nikolas says the academy timed the opening to coincide with National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which many of their staff has a vested interest in—co-worker Gail Watson was diagnosed earlier this year.

“It means a lot to me,” Gail says, adding that she still has seven chemotherapy treatments left. “Several of our clients have or have had breast cancer too.”

The event began at 5:30pm with a ribbon-cutting ceremony to commemorate the accreditation of the now two-year-old academy. Families with children of all ages enjoyed sodas, cheese platters, fruit and cupcakes as they checked out the state-of-the-art salon and mingled with the staff. They also got the chance to buy and schedule services and products at 20 percent off—a great deal, considering that most services are competitively priced as it is.

At around 6:30pm, the crowd of nearly 200 made its way next door to a large room with gold curtains, pink balloons and a long runway. The fashion show began with the Victorian era and featured four models dressed in long satin dresses and dramatic up-do’s. These stern and striking looks contrasted drastically with those later in the show, as Twiggy-esque models with authentic pixie cuts and mod dresses danced their way down the runway and Tina Turner’s voice blared from the speakers. Adding to the educational value of the night, the emcee gave the audience background into the reasons for each decade’s trends. (Did you know that women wore leg makeup during WWII due to a nylon shortage?)

As the night came to a close, the salon’s students and staff did one last walk down the runway and owner Joni Jerrell beamed with pride as she thanked everyone for coming and the raffle winners were announced.

“I feel great,” she said. “I’m so proud. I’m just emotional. I’m so happy that it all came together.”

—Jill Shatzen, Photos by Sean Kelly