The David Koma Autumn/Winter 2012 collection was shown on February 21, 2012 at the British Fashion Council Courtyard Show Space in London and the designer completed the collection with custom Minx created in collaboration with UK nail legend Marian Newman.
.JPG)
Marian, who had worked with stylist Kim Howells for last season’s show, was again approached to create a custom nail fashion for the modern, edgy brand that is known to push the boundaries of fashion.
“I was so surprised when Kim told me that this season was inspired by greyhounds! It was such a unique theme, and I was told to think along the lines of regal, chic, proud, bold, and strong,” Marian revealed.
“After discussing the feel of the collection with Kim, my suggestion was to take the shape of the metal detail and that of the jacquard print and create a ‘frame’ for the nails to correspond to the ‘frames’ in the actual collection, with an emphasis on silver and black,” explained Marian. “However, just as the frames in the collection are filled with a sheer fabric, the nails would also have the option of being filled with a variety of sheer color including silver or just bare nail. And, of course, we had to incorporate the greyhound theme by including the print on a few of the nails for each model,” she confirmed.
Marian knew that the show would be a challenge as each of the 26 models would have her own unique nail color palette to complement her specific ensemble, in addition to the greyhound print. So, Marian contacted Janice Jordan, the co-founder of Minx, and explained her vision to Janice.
“We ended up creating two layers of Minx,” revealed Janice, who personally designs all the custom requests for the solid nail coating company. “This way, Marian could walk into the show with a wide variety of frames and translucent filler colors that she could mix and match as the models’ ensembles were being finalized, achieving the uniquely custom effect that David Koma is known for.”
.JPG)
Following Marian’s final meeting with David Koma’s team, the final custom Minx designs chosen for the show were those that were relatively monochromatic. Since black and silver were the key themes for the show, this was reflected in the frames on the nails. A bare nail was chosen for the interior shape, along with silver for those coatings with a black frame, in order to demonstrate a regal aspect. The maroon and deep blue from the collection were also used for some of the looks to bring in the color components to the fingertips.
Marian brought her colleague Adam Slee to assist with the Minx application, along with five nail stylists who won their spot on Marian’s team through a Minx-sponsored contest. Laura Streeter, Laura White, Sarah Marr, Hollie Wakeham, and Samantha Yates all enjoyed their first fashion week experience tremendously as they carefully applied and layered Minx nail coatings on the models.
Marian was delighted with the results, and acknowledged that it would have been impossible to create the same look under show conditions with standard polish.
“Minx enabled us to create a custom look for each model without hand painting or dealing with the drama of wet polish,” explained Marian. “At the end of the day, we were able to deliver the exact nail fashion David Koma envisioned, chic and elegant and wearable for any occasion. And when David saw them, he said “I LOVE LOVE LOVE these!” Marian revealed.
Contact: Switch Funky
Photo credit: Becky Maynes