When it comes to things like crackle coats, impossibly detailed patterns and tacky appliqués, over-the-top nail art is dead. But minimal, graphic shapes in contrasting colors have been making a strong showing on this week's Fall 2014 runways. Now this is nail art that cool kids and grown-ups can appreciate.
A pop of contrasting color at the base of the nail is becoming a fast favorite among manicurists. At DKNY, Michelle Saunders for Essie created an “eclipse” nail look by painting over a base of snowy white Essie Blanc. For the gray section, she layered sheer nude Allure over stone gray Smokin’ Hot and finished with a matte top coat.
At Honor, Deborah Lippmann for Beauty.com created a pink-and-red statement pairing using Break 4 Love Nail Lacquer (out in March; a collaboration with fashion photographer Inez van Lamsweerde) and It's Raining Men.
We're obsesed with the look of graphic designs over an otherwise naked nail, so we're glad that this trend from last season is still going strong. At Tadashi Shoji, Butter London Global Colour Ambassador Katie Jane Hughes prepped the nail with Nail Foundation before creating a gold half-moon and tip using the brand’s Nail Lacquer in Marbs.
To complement the asymmetrical styles in Opening Ceremony’s F/W ’14 collection, manicurist Naomi Yasuda for Essie created negative space diagonal designs on models’ nails. Here, she used Aruba Blue over a clear top coat.
Nail artists are reinventing the French manicure with choice new shades and out-of-the-box designs. Take this look from Nicole Miller, where Butter London’s Katie Jane Hughes created a feathered, flame-like design by pairing different colors and textures. She started with a coat of Union Jack Black, which she mattified with Matte Finish Topcoat before painting metallic red Knees Up from the cuticle to just before the tips.
For Dannijo, Hughes stuck with the metallic theme, using Butter London Nail Lacquer in Goss as the base and Posh Bird on the tips. Instead of painting the tips, she used a makeup sponge to dab on color.
Forget pink and white; the navy blue and burgundy French manicure at Rebecca Minkoff is a new classic. Manicurist Michelle Saunders used two coats of Essie Bahama Mama for the base and a coat of Midnight Cami for the tips.
Why stop at polish? At Ohne Titel, MAC artist Keri Blair used metallic mylar stripping tape to create a 3D border around nails, which were painted with Nocturnelle Nail Lacquer and a coat of MAC’s new matte topcoat (available spring/summer 2014).
White polish was a major trend last spring, and now the shade is back for fall and winter (maybe all the snow in New York was an inspiration?). We love the graphic pop of white against a backdrop of dark clothes. At Karen Walker, Jin Soon Choi’s off-white manicures, using JINsoon Kookie White, took center stage.
At Tibi, Jin Soon continued the theme with a look that reminded us of snowglobes. She added Polka White, a speckle topcoat, over two coats of JINsoon Nail Lacquer in Nostalgia, a nude.
Some of the models at DKNY got manis that literally looked like correction fluid (hello, 9th grade study hall). Michelle Saunders for Essie topped Blanc polish with Matte About You topcoat to achieve the effect.
