Country fox hunts and treks through the woods demand cashmere legwarmers, wool check waistcoats, Penrose kilts, cotton storm pants…chunky, layered and reminiscent of times past reworked in modern street style.Make-up was quite clean; with a smudged mascara eye, wind-blown ratted hair and nails the color of your grandpa’s old gray cardigan. Asphalt softened with Super Matte gave nails a fuzzy, worn texture and look. Rag & Bone is a Vogue favorite and Anna Wintour got a sneak preview of the collection before the show even started. The house was packed and show was gorgeous.

The last show was a young, bright (and adorable) designer, Alexander Berardi…(who looks like a model himself)! This was his second collection and he was super excited to take it up a notch with tuxedo-inspired dresses, reworked white men’s shirts for girls, rosette suspenders (Note to self: need a pair!) and fabulous nails for every outfit! From red glass glitter almonds, to pearlized tailored squares and ashen-grey textural points, Alexander loved the nails and really understood the purpose of a runway show! Details and a completely rounded perspective. From every seat, you could see the statement nails, which made the show young, fun and street-wise. The club kids and social set in the audience approved!

Finally, I’m off to dinner with one of my all time favorite people – Samantha Sweet is in town from Leeds, England, home base of SweetSquared (our UK distributor), and I can’t wait to see her!

Whew – Day 2 down. It was a good one.

Time to dine!

Jan

Check out these beautiful shots from the Jason Wu show!

First up, one of my favorite designers – Ruffian!
Claude and Brian are fashion historians and have one of the most comprehensive collections of fashion books and magazines that date back to Vogues and Harper’s Bazaars from the as early as the 1950s!

Their inspiration for the season was the artist, Kandinsky, with a “Big Bang” galaxy of cosmic moons, stars, and planets against a backdrop of deep, midnight blue.

They had the most amazing boots custom made by Christian Louboutin in blue crepe with shiny gold buttons, and jackets with cut-outs reflecting the silhouette of a crescent moon on shoulders, sleeves and pockets.

For nails, we created medium length, tailored shapes in matte midnight blue with a crescent gold chrome moon nestled into the cuticle area, extending gracefully up the sides. The vision for this nail came from the sky – which appeared a golden crescent moon only the day after our meeting. I think it was a divine message!!

The show was breathtaking!!! Kristina Estabrooks, who worked tirelessly on these nails said, “They were the best nails I’ve ever done!” A huge statement from our talented artist!

A few shots from today’s inspiring show!