Everyone remembers the ‘80s differently. Some think Madonna, white-lace hair accessories, and perms, while others see Kangol and Jheri curls. But for designing duo Phillipe and David Blond of The Blonds, the indulgent decade is defined by one memory — specifically, one movie: Scarface. When the 1983 film starring Al Pacino as Cuban refugee-turned-drug kingpin Tony Montana premiered, it skyrocketed to the zeitgeist for its unprecedented levels of violence and drug use — and for the decadent lives of Montana and his wife Elvira Hancock (Michelle Pfeiffer).
Most well-adjusted people wouldn’t want to switch places with either of the film’s protagonists, but even legendary movie critic Roger Ebert felt compelled to point out that the appeal of their extravagant, devastatingly rich lives was hard to deny. "Wouldn’t we all like to be rich and powerful, have desirable sex partners, live in a mansion, be catered to by faithful servants — and hardly have to work?" Ebert wrote. Nearly 40 years later, The Blonds are asking a similar question: What if we didn’t want less? What if we wanted more… of everything?
In stark contrast to the growing minimalist trend, The Blonds didn’t restrict the drama to the clothes in their latest fall collection: They wanted to extend the retro theme to the fingertips, too. So they enlisted CND’s design team, led by Style Director Jan Arnold, to bring their animal-printed, jewel-toned, frosted mood boards to life in lavish nail art. They delivered, with claw-like nail shapes, neon coats of polish, and veils of crystals (that pay homage to Hancock’s famous habits, if you know what we mean). Ahead, an exclusive look at the CND nail creations for The Blonds’ Autumn/Winter 2019 collection.
Inspired by the maximalist lifestyles and spending habits of the ’80s, The Blonds created a mood board covered in the decade’s biggest influences, like Debbie Harry dressed in leopard print bodysuits, Grace Jones painted in emerald green eyeshadow, and Hancock covered in diamonds so expensive, they came along with a locked safe as a companion piece.
Photographed by Patrick MacLeod.
CND created a full gilded collection of nails, cured with gold beads and chains to match the bedazzled bustiers most of the models (and some celebrity guests, like Karrueche Tran and the Clermont Twins) wore down the runway.
Photographed by Patrick MacLeod.
CND lead artist Heather Reynosa tells Refinery29 that the goal was to find a way to highlight jewelry in the most decadent way. If you’re familiar with the brand’s work with The Blonds, you’d know sparkle and shine is their speciality — but even so, this year’s chrome fingertips, stacked high in crystals and gold-painted stones, brought new meaning to dripping in luxury.
Photographed by Patrick MacLeod.
It may not be real gold, but from the sidelines of the runway, it sure looked like it.
Photographed by Patrick MacLeod.
"Gold and emerald [are] a big thing for The Blonds," Winnie Huang, nail artist and CND brand ambassador, tells Refinery29. "It’s lots of crystals cascading down, and hand-dyed colors." In other words, there’s no going back to your low-key nudes after this.
Photographed by Patrick MacLeod.
You don’t have to insult PETA to get on this new nail art trend: animal print — in this case, tiger. To up the ante, CND nail artist Tracey Lee added black-painted claws to the end of each tip.
Photographed by Patrick MacLeod.
It’s no diamond ring, but special guests backstage received gold-painted rings decorated with rolled $100 bills. Montana would approve.
Photographed by Patrick MacLeod.
The French manicure is back — but not the way you’d think. "The French manicure was very important in the ’80s, harkening back to the materialistic excess of the time," Arnold says. "We’re seeing a return to that. Once you wear almond nails, it’s hard to go back to the wider shape, but for the bold, it’s perfect."
Photographed by Patrick MacLeod.
Of course, the French nails couldn’t be left bare; you have to add a little lots of gold. Another set of French nails got the Swarovski treatment with a clever line of tiny crystals glued right down the center.
Photographed by Patrick MacLeod.
Huang tells Refinery29 that the CND team recruits a toy mascot every year for inspiration. This time around, it was Gertrude the alligator, who led as major inspiration for a special set of nails. "I was inspired by the alligator skin," Huang says. "I didn’t want to just create dots that you might see on Instagram; I wanted to imitate life and translate that onto the nail. So, I made a mold out of my toy gator to get the exact texture."
Photographed by Patrick MacLeod.
Huang used a putty-like mold to replicate the texture of the gator tail before curing and painting it. For even more drama, black beads were added to dangle off the end, in addition to the miniature gator circling the base of the cuticle like a ring.
Photographed by Patrick MacLeod.
Money might not solve all your problems, but nail art with this level of drip just might.
Photographed by Patrick MacLeod.
Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
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Source: Refinery29 – Samantha Sasso