If so many designers ask for a simple nude nail, why get involved in the first place?
Credit: Fashionista
Nude happens a lot backstage at fashion shows. Not just when models are changing into their second looks, but on their fingernails. Amid a frenzy of blowing hair and brandished makeup brushes, nail techs squat beside the girls, rubbing off the last show's polish and replacing it with a fresh coat. Understatement is in right now, and you'll hear a lot of lead manicurists describing to reporters "soft, glossy nudes," "matte nudes" or "sleek, high-shine nudes."
It's a lot of description for a pretty minimal look, but for the beauty companies that sponsor shows, participating is an advertising opportunity. They've got to milk it for all it's worth.
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"Say someone wants to do a nude color. We can do a line, like simple nail art. That way you still have the clean nude thing, and we can talk about something more," explains Jin Soon Choi, a well-established industry manicurist who launched her own line of polishes in 2012 and now sponsors shows. "Sometimes I can say we used a matte topcoat. There are some ways to make it a little more, to expand the story."
There are of course plenty of designers who don't go for natural-looking nails, and as with everything, trends in nail polish are cyclical. But Alicia Torello, a manicurist who works solo as well as freelance for nail sponsors during fashion week, says that she created almost entirely nude looks last season. Choi says that out of six shows, three or four did the same. For some sponsors, a designer's request for a blush shade isn't a big deal. Others are expecting slightly more for the money they pay to get in on the action, though — namely a look that's going to get editors' and consumers' attention and put a spotlight on the products.
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"I did Jill Stuart with Zoya. They asked to do a natural nail, and Zoya doesn't really seem to mind. Like, 'It's our beautiful natural color, and we're totally fine with that.' There's not a lot of pressure from them," Torello says. "I worked with another brand where one of the designers was like, 'We really don't want anything,' and the sponsor was like, 'You kind of need to do something.' I had to figure out how to make that happen. I was like, 'Okay, let's do a nude moon on a bare nail.'"
And that's the rub. If designers don't want the nails to distract from their clothes, why do sponsors so badly want to be a part of fashion week?
Choi worked New York Fashion Week as a lead for Sally Hansen and Revlon before launching her own brand, and now she sponsors shows herself in addition while continuing to work with those two. Unlike some nail companies, she doesn't pay for the privilege to create the nail look; she just provides her own polishes and team. Bringing her brand into fashion week was a good way to create an image and excitement for her young line, she says. Choi is thinking about doing some European shows in the future, but says that would be entirely for marketing purposes — she already has relationships with those designers from working on campaigns.
Fashion week sponsorships weren't always a thing, for nail brands or for hair and makeup. MAC Cosmetics, one of the first companies to start sponsoring shows, began officially supporting New York Fashion Week in 1996.
Source: Fashionista