The Biggest Nail Art Trends of Spring 2020

By Erin Lukas
Updated Sep 11, 2019 @ 12:00 pm
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Credit: Courtesy

If all of the celebrities wearing French manicures this summer isn't enough evidence that the biggest manicure of the '90s is back, the nail art on the New York Fashion Week Spring 2020 runways is making it official. Both classic and modern versions of white tips showed up on a number of designers' runways, including Rag & Bone, Christian Siriano, and Alice + Olivia.  

Other major trends include manicures that both maximalists and minimalists will love. 3D details like the metal loops at Tibi dress up flesh-toned nails, while subtle earth-toned accents, as seen at Ulla Johnson, are a low-key way to jazz up bare nails. 

Whether you're looking for new favorite nail polish color or nail art inspiration for your next manicure, the nails from NYFW's Spring 2020 shows make up one next-season trend you can start wearing now. 

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Khaite

Credit: Essie

More proof the French manicure is back: Khaite's classic white tips. Manicurist Betina Goldstein kept the look clean and simple with Essie's sheer pink Mademoiselle for the base and full-coverage white Blanc for the pencil-thin tips. 

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Tibi

Credit: JinSoon

Metal hoops were added to the models' neutral nails. The three base colors were Sandbar, Nostalgia, and Milieu from manicurist Jin Soon Choi's eponymous nail polish line.

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Kate Spade 

Credit: Essie

Instead of one statement manicure color, Kate Spade featured several that complimented the show's shoes. Essie's Yes I Canyon is one example. 

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Jeremy Scott 

Credit: Essie

Geometric shapes, metallic western boots, and animal print, oh my! Manicurist Miss Pop leaned into the the wild side of the '80s for Jeremy Scott's nail art. Several Essie polishes and a detailing brush were used to draw the splotches and squiggles. 

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Ulla Johnson 

Credit: Paintbox

Now, this is proof that simple designs can stand out, too. Ulla Johnson's minimalist manicure featured bare nails framed with rich, earth-toned pops of color. Paintbox Like Spice and Like Wild were chosen by the nail salon's creative director Mabelyn Martin as statement shades. 

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Rag & Bone 

Credit: JinSoon

A handful of early '00s nail art trends reappeared on the Rag & Bone runway, including these minimalist dots. Manicurist Jin Soon Choi dotted Absolute White on the base of each nail, which were painted black.

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Rebecca Minkoff 

Credit: Monica Schipper/Getty Images

The nails at Rebecca Minkoff are quite possibly the easiest manicures to walk the NYFW runways. Celebrity manicurist Gina Edwards used various KISS press-on nails for the show. Stripes and splotches were added with nail art paint for the accent nails.

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Rag & Bone

Credit: JinSoon

For anyone who can't get behind the French manicure revival, consider a reverse one. Instead of painting the tip of the nail white, manicurist Jin Soon Choi went along the cutcile, creating a U shape. Any color can be the base, but this toffee beige really makes the white line pop.

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Christian Siriano 

Credit: Essie

For Christian Siriano's show, nail artist Julie Kandalec partnered with Essie on a French manicure with a twist. Silver glitter and pistachio were combined for the "painterly" French tip with a "futuristic finish."

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Alice + Olivia 

Credit: Anna Webber/Getty Images

This level up French manicure includes 3D pearls, which match the show's hairstyles. KISS Lead Nail Artist Gina Edwards added pearls and stones from the brand's Nail Art Kit to its Acrylic French Nude press-on nails in Sensibility.

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Tommy Hilfiger x Zendaya

Credit: Essie

While rich, moody nails colors are usually associated with fall, this custom oxblood shade created by nail artist Naomi Yasuda will make you think otherwise. She mixed Essie's Wicked and Berry Naughty together to get the diminensional red color.  

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Pyer Moss

Credit: Dominik Bindl/Getty Images

The red, white, and blue stipes on the nails at Pyer Moss coordinated with the models' eye makeup.

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Alice + Olivia

Credit: Noam Galai/Getty Images

What do you get when you combine two big early '00s nail art trends? Gina Edwards's second nail look for Alice + Olivia. Half moons were painted at the base of KISS' Glam Fanatasy press-on nails and a classic thin white strip was drawn along the tip. 

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3.1 Phillip Lim

Credit: JinSoon

Citrine is Spring 2020's answer to last summer's slime green manicure trend. The exact shade Jin Soon Choi used on models? Charme from her own nail polish line. 

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Zero + Maria Cornejo

Credit: 10 Free Chemistry

If this manicure from Zero + Maria Cornejo is any indication, dots are going one of next spring's biggest nail art trends. The beauty of this mani is that it's actually simple to do. Nail artist Betina Goldstein added big dots all over the nail bed with a nail art brush. 10 Free Chemistry's Moon Beam, Moody Blue, and Peonies were her shades of choice. 

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The Blonds

Credit: Bennett Raglin/Getty Images

Along with models' hair and eyelids, crystals showed up all over manicures, too. CND manicurist Shelena Robinson conceptualized five different looks to compliment The Blonds' Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge-inspired show. On top of red Sarwovski crystals, 3D roses, diamonds, and other embellishments were added to nails.  

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Oscar de la Renta

Credit: Victor Virgile/Getty Images

Yet another French manicure showed up on the runway. Oscar de la Renta's tangerine version by nail artist Miss Pop featured a deep French tip and a single dot at the tip of the nail. She used a handful of Zoya polishes: Sawyer, Laurel, Arizona, and Spencer.

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Sandy Liang

Credit: Megan Cencula/WWD/Shutterstock

Sandy Liang's manicure kept the collection's Sailor Moon theme going by sticking colorful stickers on models' fingers just below their opulesecent white-painted nails using 7TRUE products. The colors chosen by manicurist Holly Falcone represent all of the Sailor Scouts and their planets. 

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Libertine 

Credit: Jenny Anderson/Getty Images

Stacks on stacks of rainbow jelly nails were just one of the three 3D nail designs CND and Johnson Hartig created for Libertine. 

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By Erin Lukas