For most people Fashion Week is primarily about the clothes [1], but for us beauty editors, it's all about the hair and makeup [2]. For me, personally, the nails are where it's at. The three elements of a beauty look work in harmony, not only to complement certain elements of the clothes, but also to stand alone and tell a story of their own. For Spring 2020, the nails are telling a truly inspiring tale.
At New York Fashion Week, manicures spanned the entire design spectrum, starting on the minimal end with white French tips at Khaite and going full maximalist with the unconventional-yet-beautiful chains adorning accent nails at Bibhu Mohapatra, the jewels acting as an extension of the clothes in the collection. In between, there were all kinds of shades, designs, and shapes, including the dangerous-looking stiletto styles that are one part nail, one part lethal weapon.
London Fashion Week has just begun, but it's been equally as exciting when it comes to the nails. There have been plenty of crystal adornments, carrying on the trend from New York, with the standout so far being the bejewelled fake nails at Paula Knorr, which featured topaz-coloured stones that formed dainty flowers atop a clear base. At Mark Fast and Pam Hogg, on the other hand, neon was a motif running throughout, creating eye-catching manicures using just one colour.
The best thing about the nails at Summer 2020 Fashion Week is that you can wear many of these in real life, and better yet, try them out at home. The neon trend is perhaps the easiest to replicate, requiring just one bottle of superbright nail polish. But if you're looking for something a little more challenging, maybe give the soft stiletto-shaped nail a try, or add a few crystals on top of your next polish job.
Keep reading to see all angles of the best nail art trends from the Spring 2020 runway shows so far. No doubt they'll spark an idea for your next manicure (OK, some of them are perhaps a little too out there for a weekday manicure).
Pearls: Adeam Spring 2020
Pearls continue to be a big nail art trend [3], and after seeing the design at Adeam, led by Mei Kawajiri, we're convinced that these minimalist accessories are the perfect way to jazz up any simple manicure.
Nail Art: Tom Ford Spring 2020
Tom Ford led the way with the most standout nail art this season with so many unusual sets, we could barely keep up. One of our favourites has to be "cameo" nails; the tiny pieces of art featured a different shade of nail polish for each base, a white 3D cameo design in the Wedgewood style, and a gold chain along each cuticle.
Metallic French: Bibhu Mohapatra Spring 2020
The classic French manicure was reinvented many ways this season. At Bibhu Mohapatra's Spring 2020 show, Naomi Yasuda led the team to create a metallic French manicure. Each finger featured a different metallic shade and had an accent of silver jewelled chain running vertically and extending past the tip, for a beyond the nail effect.
Minimalist White French: Khaite Spring 2020
Another reinvented French manicure was seen at the Khaite show in New York. Nail artist Betina Goldstein kept it simple but no less beautiful with a clear base coat and a very thin white line across the tips of the nails. A minimalist, modern take on the classic French manicure; a design that we'll definitely be trying out at home.
Crystal Flowers: Area Spring 2020
The nails at Area Spring 2020 proved that you don't need to choose between crystals and florals. Yasuda glued small white crystals onto the nail to create the petals, followed by a larger, brightly coloured crystal to form the centre of the flower. These maximalist nails complemented the face jewellery from Preciosa Components that adorned each model for an extravagant impact.
Jewellery: Tibi Spring 2020
Finger jewellery doesn't have to just include rings, according to New York Fashion Week. The manicures at Tibi, by Jin Soon Choi, featured hand sculptured wire glued to the nail, which gave the effect of mini pieces of artwork — perhaps taking inspiration from Park Eunkyung of Unistella [4].
Bejewelled Flowers: Paula Knorr Spring 2020
More teeny jewels, this time in London at Paula Knorr. Bluesky was used to create the clear acrylic base, and on top of which, tiny gold jewels were added to form flower patterns.
Stiletto: Tom Ford Spring 2020
Soft and stylish stiletto nails were on display at Tom Ford's show. Kaia Gerber wore neutral pink-toned Tom Ford nail polish on long almond-shaped stiletto nails; definitely one of the more wearable designs at the show this season.
Stiletto: Section 8 Spring 2020
Another stiletto shape, this time with graphic art on each finger. Green, navy, pink, white, and black shaded polishes were used to create a multicoloured architectural design to complement the Section 8 Spring 2020 collection.
Neon: Mark Fast Spring 2020
Mark Fast's Spring 2020 show in London featured simple neon nails, but they were in no way less effective than the more complex designs this season. Michaela Johnson, lead artist, used a yellow shade from The Gel Bottle polish as the standout colour, painted onto the models' natural nails, mirroring the shade throughout the vibrant the collection.
Tweed: Tom Ford Spring 2020
Kawajiri continued to create nail art magic at Tom Ford. Taking inspiration from fabrics, she mimicked red, black, and navy hues using intricately painted lines, crossing one another to form a tweed style design.
Sweater: Tom Ford Spring 2020
The next fabric inspiration was "sweater", which Kawajiri painstakingly painted by hand to create the soft, knitted effect. "Pig and man in the farm sweater nails" is perhaps the sweetest design of the season so far.
Lace: Tom Ford Spring 2020
The final fabric that inspired a set of nail art at Tom Ford's show was lace. This feminine design featured real lavender-hued lace, stuck onto each nail, topped with a few silver jewels.
Jewellery-Inspired: Roland Mouret Spring 2020
Forget about matching your manicure to your outfit, Roland Mouret thinks you should match it to your jewellery instead. Nail artist Marian Newman [5] created 3 manicures, each designed to correspond with a piece of jewellery from the new collection. Each manicure was breathtakingly detailed and inspired by a piece of jewellery, proving that nails make a perfect tiny canvas for artwork.
Clear Tips: Halpern Spring 2020
Stilettos were back in action during the Halpern show, but this time in reverse. the look was inspired by a "Modern take of the '70s reverse French Manicure," Jan Arnold, co-founder and style director of CND said. To achieve this look, a clear false nail was applied to the natural nail, followed by a carefully painted coat of chrome colour towards the cuticle, in a reverse French manicure style. Simple, effective, and oh-so elegant.
Reflective Nails: Julien Macdonald 2020
"Each one was on a clear tip so there was a lightness and airiness. There was glitter there was shimmer, crystal, and dangles," Marian Newman says. There were approximately 15 designs, and each was totally over-the-top — or as Newman described it — "unapologetic" as the next.
Neon Tips: Courrèges 2020
