Toka Salon & Spa to transform socialites to models in Fashion For Paws event for fifth year in a row.
By Roshan Farazad
Toka Salon & Spa styles Christine Sequenzia, Barbara Merola, Donna Donella.
Fashion For Paws will be hosting its annual fashion show on April 9 this year. Nuri Yurt, owner of Toka Salon & Spa, along with his styling team will be styling 65 models. Toka Salon & Spa has been a proud sponsor since Fashion For Paws’ start five years ago.
Fashion For Paws is a marketing and fundraising program that raises money for the Washington Humane Society by hosting fashion and luxury lifestyle brand events.
Q&A with Toka Salon
Washington Life: How did Toka Salon start working with Fashion For Paws?
Toka Salon: We got involved because we thought it was a worthwhile cause to get behind – a cause that’s important to our clients and to us personally. When Tara came to us for support, it was a no-brainer for Toka. We’ve been involved from the beginning, now five years running. We even have a rescue dog that we adopted after the first year’s show. Nuri walked the runway that year and he took his companion dog model home with him! Toka’s adopted “Canim” is a beautiful white rat terrier.
WL:How big is the styling team for Fashion For Paws?
TS: We will have 8 stylists at F4P. At least half of our team are veterans of the event, so they are definitely excited about being a part of it again this year.
WL: How long does it take to style all the models?
TS: We push to get it done in 2.5 hours. But we really want to emphasize how much fun it is. We all operate on pure adrenaline!
WL: What is the most exciting part of styling at the Fashion For Paws event?
TS: We love seeing all of the models, the Exec Committee and Production Team again. Tara really kicks this show up a notch or two every year. The production team she has in place is awesome and great fun to work with. Seyhan, of course, always delivers on great sound! And it’s all for such a good cause.
WL: What is the biggest challenge when styling 65 models?
TS: Time constraint is the biggest challenge, of course. Delivering fabulous runway hair designs on 65 models in 2.5 hours. Yes, definitely a challenge! We know many of the models already but we don’t see their clothes until that night. We have to create a hairstyle to fit the designer dress and get them down the runway! Thank goodness for our experienced and talented team — none of them a stranger to runway work. We’ve done Fashion Week in NY, shows in Paris and Milan, and have worked with Valentino and Armani. Our experience with the First Ladies in both the Clinton and Bush Administrations, and the collaboration with Oscar de la Renta serves us well.
Toka Salon & Spa has locations in DC, VA, and NY. For more information, check out its website.
