As New York's Mayor predicts the coldest city temperatures for twenty years, backstage at fashion week manicurists are setting a similarly cool tone for next season's nail trends.At Alexander Wang Michelle Saunders revisited an "obscure" Essie shade called Jazz (£10.95, Liberty.co.uk) to complement the heavy metal-inspired collection. "It's almost an 'un-colour'," explained Michelle. "It has subtle puce undertones, which give it a ghostly vibe." Models, including Kendall Jenner, wore this muted mani on the runway, which was topped off with Essie's Matte About You (£11.95, Liberty.co.uk).
Jin Soon Choi has tapped into the nude spoke of the colour wheel
Jin Soon Choi (whose celebrity clients include Taylor Swift and Anne Hathaway) also tapped into the nude spoke of the colour wheel for Tibi AW15. Inspired by the Inuit culture and its arctic climate, Jin Soon crafted these painterly "snow-tipped" nails using JINsoon Nostalgia (the base colour) and a new spring shade called Doux on top. She promised us her polishes would (finally) be available in the UK later on this year.
Essie's Jazz is tipped to be the shade of the season
The French tip made a half-hearted comeback at Altuzarra AW15. Julie Kandalec, Creative Director at Paint Box (New York’s coolest new nail salon) layered two coats of Essie's Adore-A-Ball (£10.95, Liberty.co.uk) to get a pink tint so sheer it naturally highlighted the free edge of the nail. For a glossy, high-shine finish, apply Essie Good To Go Top Coat (£8.99, Boots.com).
Brooklyn-based nail technician Honey created this graphic nail art look
'Negative space' was a sartorial theme at the Suno AW15 show, and to echo that Brooklyn-based nail technician Honey (no last name) created this graphic nail art look. "Paint skinny white lines on to bare nails, or on just one layer of base coat, to reduce the drag. Mirror the natural curve of your cuticle for the horizontal line, and then swipe up the centre of the nail. "Rita Remark, Essie Canada's Lead Nail Artist, gave a lesson in muted tonality at Dion Lee AW15. On using a triumvirate of neutral shades - Essie in Mademoiselle, Sand Tropez and Allure (£7.99 each, Boots.com) - and keeping the shape short and square, Rita explained: "The colour palette is fleshy, not taupey. The shades are skin-flattering; Kate Middleton actually wore Allure on her wedding day."
Eggshell, mushroom, pink and sage hues were all on display at the Mara Hoffman AW15 collection
Finally we saw a warmer, 'earthy' spin on the nude trend at Mara Hoffman AW15. As well as eggshell, mushroom, pink and sage hues, there was a welcome injection of metallics by way of Zoya’s Maria Luisa shade (£8.95, nailpolishdirect.co.uk).
