Every time Phoebe Philo drops a new collection, it causes a stir. Past hits included the ultra-oversized Bombé sunglasses, a leather jacket with a built-in ruffle, and a $27,000 fur coat that Kendall Jenner wore for a night out in Aspen.
But the collection C’s campaign gave us an entirely new thing to covet: the perfect fall manicure. Starring filmmaker Mati Diop, the imagery’s tight crop showed us only a hint of the minimalist clothing, leaning instead into the fun and beauty we’d be having in it. Diop’s hair was pulled back, lips glossed a deep shade of black cherry, and her nails filed into long rectangles, a different shade and style on each finger.
Courtesy of Phoebe Philo
Courtesy of Phoebe Philo
“I’ve done my fair share of multicolored manicures in the past 14 years,” says celebrity manicurist Betina Goldstein. While she didn’t work on Philo’s ad herself, she’s been using similar shades on clients like Margot Robbie recently. “It’s a fun and easy way to experiment with nails.”
But what makes the Philo x Diop manicure even cooler than a standard multicolored manicure (which is also called a Skittles manicure) is the mixing of opacities and finishes. One finger is an opaque and creamy ivory, the next a jelly brown. Each finger is different, but together the color palette is neutral and cool.
“When it comes to playing around with multicolored manicures, it’s all about the color combination and placement,” Goldstein says. “A tone in one place versus another could make it feel too child-like or give it a completely different vibe than what you are going for.”
Vogue Runway director Nicole Phelps describes Philo’s aesthetic as “grown-up minimalism,” and that’s exactly what this manicure is giving, too: beauty, the Phoebe Philo way.
