Mercedes Australian Fashion Week doesn’t just showcase upcoming clothing, beauty, and hair trends: hot looks for nails are also in the limelight.
The art of the nail is an ever-changing and accessible one. The great thing about nail lacquer is that it can really add an interesting edge to your look. Whether you choose a colour that complements your outfit or deliberately challenges the fashion impression you’ve got going on, polishing your nails is another avenue allowing style to be expressed in an easy and affordable way.
Truth is nail art can be as simple, or as complex, as you (or your manicurist) choose to make it—in a variety of textural finishes—but at its core, it’s generally about colour.
Brands are always working to provide on trend shades, a constantly changing stream of nuanced colour in a variety of finishes and sheens. (There is also a lot of ingredient awareness, and you can research the content of your colour before making a purchase.) Not to mention many complementing products in the range that help perfect the base, or lock in and protect colour coatings.
What’s great about Mercedes Australian Fashion Week is the opportunity to see an array of finishes on the runway, from the nude to bolder options, and get a good idea of what will be dominating the nail scene for the next few months.
Because Spring/Summer collections were being showcased—and a lot of flowing pale numbers were scattered across different designer collections—pale pinks through to beige appeared regularly.
One example was the nails at the Ellery show at Mercedes Australian Fashion Week SS 2015 by OPI, designed to channel the collection’s classic feel (inspired by women in post-impressionist paintings), hence the neutral-to-soft-pastel shades.
The brand was also a nail partner for Maticevski’s showing. Because Maticevski’s collection was so controlled, the designer says (in regards to the nail style on the runway), “We wanted to make it fun and really play with the idea of mixing it up, layering shades, textures, tones, some married and some contrasting. We didn’t need to keep the colour consistent, but instead to have fun and experiment with different colours and textures on a well-manicured natural nail.”
Feature nails were part of the look, reminding the audience you’re not limited to one colour per hand. Working from pretty and pink through to greys and blacks, the feature nail generally remained in a similar colour family, giving a hint of gradient colour progression that worked beautifully with the designs. (Love how black and grey nails have become synonymous with a modern interpretation of glamour in recent years.)
Light cream to white nails were popular choices, popping up here and there. A white nail approach is definitely one of the standout trends for the next few months. It’s clean and strong but not overpowering and works with almost any look (from bold complex prints to pretty frills).
And of course, there’s always a moment for a variation on the “naked” nail, whatever your preferred take; many women swear by a French manicure, regardless of current colour trends.
GILLIAN O’MEAGHER
