Hotoff THE CATWALK

Metallic edge

MUAs may have gone big on the metallics in the make-up looks at London Fashion Week AW20 – with foils used to create statement eyes at shows including Erdem, Preen and Halpern – but on the nails, the sheen was a little subtler.

At Chanel Joan Elkayam, lead tech Sarah Poulten used Lecenté foils to add rough metallic tips and edges to nude nails for an urban fairytale finish, while over at Halpern, session tech Marian Newman used Lecenté foil in Rainbow Shimmer over black polish, applying “very tiny little lines so it’s quite subtle, but all the colours of the foil picked up the colour in the outfits”. In another look for the same show, she gave matte black nails a 3D glitter cuff, whereas at Sabirah Official, lead manicurist Marie Louise Costa went for a chunkier glitter in Artistic Colour Revolution’s Yank My Gold Chain to complement the golds and metallic purples in the clothing.

Back to black

Super-dark shades are always a staple of the autumn-winter catwalks but this year, we’re set to go deeper with some twists on the classic black.

Newman gave CND’s Black Pool an edgier finish at Halpern’s LFW show, using Vinylux Matte Top Coat for an understated look. At Rejina Pyo, manicurist Loui-Marie toned down the stark shade by using Peacci’s Cinnamon Spice, a deep burgundy brown, for a more flattering finish. “The colour complemented the khakis, rusts and terracottas used in the show,” she comments. Meanwhile, Simone Cummings kept things classic using Peacci’s Jet Black on stiletto shapes for designer Yan Dengyu, who was part of LFW’s On/Off showcase.

Sheer luck

A super-sheer finish gave long nails an almost ethereal look at many of the London Fashion Week shows. At Roksanda, lead artist Pebbles Aikens kept the nails super-clean with sheer washes of Jessica Phenom in Pink-ABoo sealed in a matte-finish topcoat.

Session tech Sylvie Macmillan used CND’s Vinylux nudes such as Bouquet, Powder My Nose, Romantique and Satin Slippers to offset the bright pastels of the Richard Quinn collection; while the rounded extensions at Dilara Findikoglu were adorned with CND Creative Play in Su-pearl-ative, Lost in Spice and Poppin’ Bubbly to create glistening opaque finishes.

Blood red

If there was one shade that dominated the nails this fashion week season it was a moody blood red. At Pam Hogg, lead tech Nickie Rhodes-Hill chose CND’s Bellini “to mirror the almost corpse bride/gothic glamour/Halloween-esque look of the collection”.

OPI sponsored the Molly Goddard show, where Saffron Goddard created a rough-andready finish using layers of burgundy shade In The Cable Carpool Lane.

Salon System supported the Mimi Wade show, where Karen Louise and her team used coffinshaped press-ons to create wearable length, painted in pops of sophisticated navy, grey or blood red.

Peacci’s Bloodgood was the shade of choice for manicurist Loui-Marie Pires at the Shrimps show, while the reds went brighter at Kolchagov Barba, where the theme was pop art and Costa used Artistic Colour Revolution in Hotsy to give a pop of colour.

PB

Best of the rest AW20 London Fashion Week

Neon pop: Pops of colour were more prevalent than usual for autumn and Marian Newman’s fluorescent look for Tommy Hilfiger was among the best, using super-bright Peacci colours.

Let it rain: at Yuhan Wang, manicurist Lauren Michelle Pires designed the nails to look “as if they had just been cried on”, dotting Peacci’s clear rubber topcoat over colour to create an effect of tears or rain.

Stark fade: One of the many looks created by Newman at Halpern saw on-trend deep red fade starkly into bright white, like blood in the snow, mirroring exactly the cuff detailing of the clothing collection.