Fall | Winter 2017

Lookbook

As the leaves deepen in color and earth shifts, the theme is rebirth. This season’s nails summon snake-spirits and burnt offerings from other worlds, punk muses, rainbow karaoke teens, and retro Hollywood starlets. In keeping with the theme of transformation, many of the nails we created are images of both destruction and creation.

For Fall and Winter, our imaginings come from trash bags, duct tape and bubble wrap, on to iconic Pucci paisleys, candy-pinks and opalescent finishes. And, in one simple word, red. We welcome Jeremy Scott back on our CND playground after far too long, and his Malibu-warmed, medium crimson nail is a star attraction for the new season. Wear it all.

Jan Arnold
Co-Founder/Style Director
CND

Walls Come Down

Nails know no boundaries. Marshmallow peep-pastels were once relegated to springtime, but now they’re delivered fresh for fall wrapped up in Japanese newsprint. The righteous red nail steals the season’s spotlight with a golden dressing-room star. Vibes from the ‘60s, in the form of giddy pop prints, liven up basic black. And on the outskirts of town, there’s the perfume of falling roses and the rattle of a tamourine.

Gypsy shawls and caravans of roses

The Caspian Sea smolders like blue fire, ringed by ancient kingdoms. The borders run together like melted wax or disappear altogether, leaving a legacy of ancient embroideries that are dense and perfect, like beaded rows of caviar.

The LIBERTINE palette of tumbling roses is deepened by a dying sunset, tassels and fringe glinting in the campfire as the wagons light their lamps and roll out into the darkness under a wide-faced moon. A bell rings, the dogs howl their farewell.

REPTILE LIBERATOR

She moves as sinuously as a serpent rising from the ruins of an ancient altar, buried deep below the busy city streets. Centuries have passed as she slumbered undisturbed. Buildings have come and gone. Millions of feet have passed above her, oblivious, unaware. Snows have fallen. And now, there is a turn, she stirs. And she emerges, shedding past selves of scorched lace and trailing priceless baubles. Strangers on the street gaze into her eyes, and they know instantly.

THE BLONDS tresses coil like the hissing locks of Medusa, and her nails bear the dark imprint of a forbidden talisman. After an ecstasy of longing, she has re-entered the world on a mission of mayhem. Her hands, the symbol of her power, are girded with black leather, pearls, and gossamer fabrics that dissipate like steam or smoke into the city haze. She’s gone again, and not for good.

MY LO-LIFE’S A SELFIE

Kanji calligraphy written with a pink puffy-paint pen, with sparkles: this fall statement rides in on a glittery pastel unicorn right from Harajuku.

The omniverous trending of Japanese teen fashion mashes up iconic elements, like the traditional equestrian and nautical hardware of decades of designer “It” bags, with Swinging ‘60s Carnaby Street references.

EMOTIONAL RESCUE

Named Designer of the Year, London-based Simone Rocha blows the dust off antique tracery to uncover what to wear this fall. There is a regal touch of Queen Victoria’s mourning for Prince Albert, with jet, obsidian and formal, faceted black ornaments. But daring layers of color worn as protection rock the house, even the House of Lords.

REBEL REBEL

Punk rules the streets this season with a contrarian attitude. The collection created by Vivienne Westwood plays with traditional tartans and plaids and turns them on their heads.

For the nails this season - the traditional pink and white mani goes topsy-turvy. And other digits are just plain naughty under their schoolboy masks.

THAT’S A WRAP

Fall’s fashion is signed, sealed, delivered in industrial finishes that go from corrugated cardboard colors to caramel-camel classicism. Take me down, little Suzy, take me down—I know you think you’re the queen of the underground.

When Princess Edie loses it all, she simply packs it in and ships herself off to her next destination-- C.O.D., of course.

WINTER IN THE TROPICS

Ice Ages may come and go, but fashion seems to always find its way south toward the equator. The vivid orange of jungle blossoms, the deep teal of ancestral lagoon, flashed with the streak of escaping zebra stripes. Iconic designer paisleys vibrate with their sultry origins in the textiles of first nations—a warming trend against the coming frost.