While nude seems to be the main manicure trend at New York Fashion Week, we can always count on our friends at Creative Nail Design (CND) for some amazing (and over-the-top) wearable nail art. This season Jan Arnold and the team really out did themselves.
At The Blonds, the story (and nail art) starts out bright and shining and then turns post-apocalyptic with miniature replicas of transformers and generals’ badges. No matter if you’re into the dark or the light side, these nails are worth checking out!
The nails mimic the show, which designers, David and Phillipe, poetically describe in their program. “The Blonds began in a fairytale and we came to life, but is this life reality? No. It is a SHOW! Zoom Back camera! We are images, dreams, photographs. We must not stay here prisoners!! We shall break the illusion. This is magic! A BLOND REVOLUTION!”
The fairytale–style nails, made of lace and encrusted with Swarovski crystals, are like a “jewel box exploding.” “You can see the angst though, before the bomb goes off,” Arnold excitedly points out.
One of Jan’s favorites from designs from the beginning half of the show is a white leather corset nail. “It’s actually [based off of] a real corset on the runway. We took a white leather corset and kinda ripped it apart and tied it back together again. Then there’s tulle which will wrap around the finger, wrap around the wrist.”
After the revolution, the nails (like the clothes) take a darker turn. One set has a tiny cyanide pill buried in a clear tip wrapped in black leather; talk about really going above and beyond! Tiny military badges made of liquid and powder dangle from models’ manicures. There’s even a nail series full of shrapnel. Jan jokes about the popularity of the “shrapnel mani.”
Part of what makes CND’s nails so amazing isn’t just the time and effort (around 900 hours from concept to finish to create these 21 nail looks), but the fact that each piece is hand made and given such care. The nails are an intricate part of story The Blonds tell at their runway show and really pull the whole thing together. Beauty is supposed to be fun and CND certainly has a lot of fun with it!
When we asked Jan Arnold how she felt about this season she explained, “I think it was so fun, this season went a little darker, a little more severe and we love that.”
We love it too, Jan!
—Janine Silver
Those are of course a little too much, but it’s encouraging to play around with color and be a bit more edgy with my manicures!
Those are of course a little too much, but it’s encouraging to play around with color and be a bit more edgy with my manicures!
Really great post!! I didn’t know you could even do most of those things with your nails
Really great post!! I didn’t know you could even do most of those things with your nails