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
Labels: American Cancer Society, beauty, charity, event, fashion, fundraiser, Salon Professional Academy, style
posted by INsite Blog at
1:00 PM
0 Comments
After the Dahlia show, BobbyK took the stage with what he called "yet another of his many diva moments," as he thanked the massive audience and turned our attention to the "exotic yoga" cage dancer who opened his show. From the moment the lights turned on the dancer's pink hair, we know what we were in for with BobbyK's collection—sex appeal.
Our favorite look was a pink anorak-style shirt-dress that flattered the model and was noticeably a departure from the more revealing looks surrounding it. Bobby hyped up the audience with his use of artfully placed zippers, exaggerated ruffled sleeves, funky tie-dyed fabrics and some space-age inspired dresses fit straight for a spaceship stewardess on her way to find the fifth element. We appreciated the addition of menswear to this collection and hope there will be more to come.
Before the show started Bobby told us he has been working for years to bring us what he did that night, and his hard work paid off as the hundreds of attendants shouts and hollers increased as the collection went on, all the way to and through the show's finale.
Round two of Gainesville Fashion Week was opened by Etc. Boutique, which showed us how to do basics with style. The store featured an assortment of designer jeans—Hudson, Joe's and True Religion to name a few—paired with flowing tanks, summer scarves and a few embellished tops.
The show also highlighted our favorite frugalista trick of transforming "going out" pieces into daywear when it showed us a shiny legging paired with a Bohemian top.
