On Feb. 9, Ulla Johnson debuted her Fall/Winter 2025/2026 collection at New York Fashion Week, featuring runway hairstyles by celebrity stylist Mustafa Yanaz.
The featured styles, “The Hidden Fishtail” and “Wind-Kissed Waves,” were achieved by using TRESemmé’s A-List Collection, including products such as their new Smoothing Cream and Hair Fragrance to enhance the flow of the models’ hair. The TRESemmé A-List Collection is available exclusively at Target.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – FEBRUARY 09: A model prepares backstage for TRESemmé X Ulla Johnson on February 09, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for TRESemme)
Prior to the show, Yanaz spoke with The Knockturnal backstage about his inspiration behind the hairstyles for Ulla Johnson’s collection, and the process of preparing for New York Fashion Week.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
The Knockturnal: What inspired your hair direction for this runway show?
Yanaz: For Ulla Johnson and her craftsmanship, almost every dress is made with the hands. There’s nice prints and flowers, gold elements — it’s beautiful, and I wanted to add this in the hair. Basically, we have some girls with a fishtail braid, and the good thing about it is it’s handmade and needs a lot of detail. I wanted to put that as an element to make it work with the clothes, because I always say that the hair and fashion should work together. There’s also lots of models with natural [hair] texture, and what I love is to work with the natural texture instead of against it.
The Knockturnal: How does doing runway hair differ from an editorial shoot?
Yanaz: I personally think an editorial shoot is easier, because you can add in post. You can edit some hair. If you mess up with something, you can edit it, and sometimes you don’t see the hair or what happens when it moves. So show hair has to be perfect in 360 degrees. Nowadays, we have drones that record the models from the top, so even the top has to be perfect. So, I think it’s harder to do, but I also think it’s more fun, because I love harder things. If you use too much product, [the hair] is not moving at all. But what I like about the TRESemmé products is that they’re not too heavy, and it works to give the natural texture the models want.
The Knockturnal: How do you work with your team to execute your vision for the runway?
Yanaz: That’s hard, especially when every model has a different hair texture. So basically, I have to run to everyone and say, “this is it.” I built up my team, and I know exactly who’s good or strong in what. So I send the models to the right person.
The Knockturnal: What’s your favorite part about New York Fashion Week?
Yanaz: My favorite part is that everyone in fashion gets together — photographers, stylists, makeup artists. And we all do the stuff that we love. The best part is the backstage energy. I love it.
Photos courtesy of Getty Images.
