THE GOLDEN AGE OF NAIL ART

If ART holds up a mirror to culture, then NAIL ART does the same, albeit on a tiny CANVAS. Here, how intricate MANICURES infiltrated FASHION, social media, and society at large.

-  ARABELLE SICARDI,

Have you ever made art so daring that the U.S. Department of the Treasury called you up to talk about it? That’s the story nail artist Bernadette Thompson gets to tell about the manicure she did for Lil’ Kim on set in the late ’90s, setting off a chain of events that led to her becoming the first nail artist exhibited in New York’s Museum of Modern Art.

“On sets back then, they wanted plain nails—beige, sheer pink, or clear,” Bernadette says. “All she had were little short nails! So I went into my wallet, took money out, cut it up, and did a French manicure.”

The result, now known as money nails, became a defining moment in the history of hip-hop and beauty. The look went viral before the internet did, garnering the attention of the Treasury, which reminded Bernadette that defacing dollar bills was illegal. “Fast-forward nearly 20 years and I get a call from MoMA,” she says. “Never in my wildest dreams did I think anything I did would be in a museum with Picasso and Basquiat.”

In the decades since, scandalous, glamorous, and even more over-the-top manicures have taken on a life of their own. You’ve probably seen takes on crystal “extendo” nails, epitomised by Jenny Bui’s work with her longtime client Cardi B, at your local grocery store. Your neighbourhood nail salon is likely inundated with requests for “glazed donut” and chrome nails, thanks to Zola Ganzorigt’s work with Hailey Bieber. It wasn’t always like this.