“Lucite Sunset” Ombre Nails Seen At Rebecca Minkoff SS16
New York-based designer Rebecca Minkoff has perfected the art of masterminding products for the technology-savvy woman, creating unique shopping experiences through the novel use of technology, and using social media to engage with fans and customers in unprecedented ways. In 2011, she created an ad campaign featuring real-life Instagram fans. Earlier this year, she introduced a range of wearable tech bracelets, some featuring Bluetooth-enabled technology that make the baubles vibrate whenever new calls or texts are received. Many of her boutiques contain dressing rooms outfitted with interactive touch screen mirrors that recognize garments, offer suggestions on how to style them, and even allow customers to request different sizes or call in new garments to try on. Most recently, for her Spring 2016 show, she partnered with Intel to have Yuneec Typhoon drones hovering over the runway, capturing aerial shots of the looks making their way down the catwalk and snapping photos of guest arrivals and audience reactions during the show. In part of her never-ending quest to create a more fluid dynamic with fans, to make them feel like they’re being included in design decisions and the brand’s overall direction, she even allowed them to decide which nail look would be showcased on the runway. On September 10th, she posted a photo of three unique nail looks — all created by Michelle Saunders for essie — on Instagram and gave her followers a day to vote on their favorite design, promising the winning look would be seen during the September 12th show. Check out her original Instagram post:
Apparently, the third look had the most charm, and so models at the Rebecca Minkoff Spring 2016 show flaunted the “Lucite Sunset” nail design, a soft ombré look inspired by the chunky lucite heels in the designer’s SS16 footwear collection.
To create the look, Saunders started by applying the essie First Base base coat to clean and filed nails. Next, she trimmed a triangular makeup sponge in half, using the more narrow side when dabbing polish onto the nail tip and creating the ombré look. She started by brushing thin horizontal lines of nail polish colors onto the sponge itself, starting with essie Tarte Deco nail polish at the top of the sponge, then following with the essie Marshmallow shade, the Beach Bum Blu lacquer, and the Midnight Cami hue. Next, she pressed the sponge over the nail, making sure to position the sponge so that the Tarte Deco shade would be situated along the base of the nail. Every other nail, she reapplied the nail lacquers onto the sponge to make sure the saturation was consistent throughout the entire mani.
Once the ombré sunset look was completed, Saunders softened the look with a single coat of essie Spaghetti Strap, then sealed the look with the essie Gel Setter Top Coat.
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