your Beauty Our duty

20 of the industry’s top nail stylists were flown in by CND from across the country and 3 continents to collaborate with 62 designers, custom-mix 8 nail colors for specific shows, and tend to over 37,000 fingers & toes in 10 days at New York Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2008.



The unexpected must-have accessories were not the bags or shoes, they were nails! Left undone they can ruin even the most polished look. CND worked with fashion designers including, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Badgley Mischka, Chaiken and Donna Karan to complete the beauty look for their runway collections with picture-perfect nails. CND’s key nail professionals who determined the right look for each show are Roxanne Valinoti, Cherie Pollard, Amanda Fontanarrossa and Kristina Baune. They hail from New York, Sydney, London and Minnesota respectively.



So, what looks will glamorous women go for when it comes to next spring’s manicures and pedicures?

Healthy, clear pastel tints, like lip gloss for the nails
Bright pops of hot pink
Dark nails are the new classic for dressed up events


Lucite Look

Dominant accessories on the runways this season were refreshingly clear Lucite colors on nails. Like lip gloss for the nails, these polishes from CND’s new Plexi Pop Spring/Summer 2008 collection bestow fingers and toes with a tint of color in shades of pink, coral and turquoise that gives them either a soft healthy glow or a bright optic verve.



The runaway favorite was the yet-to-be-named CND Spring/Summer #3, a warm translucent pink that made its runway debut at 13 shows including BCBG, Behnaz Sarafpour, Carmen Marc Valvo and DKNY. Another favorite, S/S #2, a light translucent pink, graced the fingers and toes at 10 designers’ shows such as Chaiken, Luca Luca, Peter Som and Philosophy di Alberta Feretti. Healthy, glossy pink shine on nails was a natural complement to the clean skin and matte nude lips seen throughout the week.



At the Ashish N Soni show, models wore S/S #6, a sheer opalescent turquoise on their fingertips to add a hint of shimmery color to the primarily grey and white collection. On Chris Han’s runway, S/S #6 was a fresh complement to the designer’s color palette of ivory, turquoise, grey, silver and white.



S/S #5, a bright sheer pink, graced the fingers and toes of models who paraded for Douglas Hannant’s Park Avenue clientele as he showed a glamorous yacht-on-the-Mediterranean-inspired collection.



Perfection in Pink

Pink in all hues was a prevailing shade for Spring runways, showing up on cheeks, lips and of course nails. Bright pops of it were seen at Lyn Devon, where Passionfruit Poppy, a vibrant magenta crème, stood out against the geometric patterns that dominated the collection. Meanwhile, Trophy, a vibrant coral pink crème, was a strong statement alongside the bold colors like navy, lemon yellow and lawn green that were prevalent at the Milly show. At Monique Lhuillier, models donned delicate French Pink, a shimmery pale petal shade that went well with the neutral beauty look that was created to let the beautiful gowns take center stage.



Elegant Evening

Dark nails are de rigeur for Fall/Winter; for Spring it is evolving to an evening classic. Badgley Mischka’s stunning gowns were accessorized with sheer pink manicures, while toes were coated in dramatic raisin Fedora and deep red Decadence. Rich Moroccan Ruby red was painted on the toes at Proenza Schouler, where military-inspired clothes were fall-like in color and texture making them perfect for cool Spring nights. Manicures and pedicures at Marchesa were done in sultry Nail Noir, an aubergine crème, which completed the gorgeous eveningwear for the “British Raj” theme of the show, where Victorian romance merged with Indian tradition and sensuality. Limited Edition, a rich burgundy crème, adorned the fingertips of the models at Max Azria where dreamy silhouettes evoked sensual allure and intimate luxury.



Color Customized

In some cases, CND’s expert team deemed that new shades needed to be created for certain shows in order to pick up on a detail, theme or pantone color. For 3.1 Phillip Lim, Kristina Baune custom-mixed a clementine crème to match several of the fabrics. At Catherine Malandrino, Amanda Fontanarossa blended a delicate skin-tone enamel that wouldn’t compete with Malandrino’s Provencal artists’ palette. Akiko Ogawa’s color theme was gradations of white that called for a matte dove gray to extend the multi-tonal look to hands and feet. CND again mixed a pale gray crème to accent the warm color range of peach and dusty rose seen at Costello Tagliapietra. Lavender was a prominent color at Three as Four showing up in the clothes, hair and makeup, so naturally nails needed to match. CND custom-blended lavender and taupe crèmes for fingers and toes. Karen Walker’s horse race theme contrasted bright pastels against muted neutrals in whimsical floral and polka dot patterns. The playful styling extended to a bold nail statement alternating between matte citron, rose and mint.



French Revolution

For Baby Phat’s St. Tropez-themed show, Kristina Baune modernized the 80’s French manicure using sand-toned Serenity for the base and metallic Pharaoh’s Gold for the tip on glamorous long almond nails. At L.A.M.B., nail goddess Gwen Stefani and CND’s Roxanne Valinoti decided on a high-contrast, crisp white base and black tip to accessorize the naughty school-girl looks seen against the hi-tech black and white background graphics. Similarly, at Jayson Brunsdon, fellow Aussie Cherie Pollard created a shorter nail with Cold Shoulder, a metallic white and thin clean line of Voodoo black painted on the tip. This smart update to the classic French looked crisp with his cleanly tailored silhouettes in black, white, red and green silks.



It’s All in the Details

Heatherette’s 1950’s Americana inspiration made the natural choice for the nails a picnic print gingham replete with ants, while some models showed off patriotic American flags on their fingertips. Pegah Anvarian’s 70’s disco theme was perfectly expressed with long almond nails in Studio 54, a bold purple crème, Orange-a-Peel, an orange crème, and Burn, a bright hibiscus red crème. Mara Hoffman’s cheerful prints and tropical floral color theme lent itself naturally to a subtle tone on tone white scalloped petal pattern on long almond nails.

Courtesy of CND