The Blonds have proved to be appreciators of fine nail art, as seen in their past shows. Almost as many crystals and embellishments are found on the runway nails as there are on the high-fashion looks from the designers.

This season the Blonds created a collection based on genies that quickly evolved into gangster genies. As a result, the nails ranged from ornate genie lamps that actually puff smoke to flying carpets with tassels to crown of thorns, saint nails (with Phillipe from the Blonds face as that of the saint), to blinged out bustier replicas (complete with sweetheart necklines), and other glitzed out nails that were in the style of the clothing walking the runway.

With jewelry becoming more and more prominent as a way to extend the nail, I asked CND co-founder Jan Arnold about the use of rings on the runway nails. She explained that while nail techs in the CND Design Lab aren’t actually making the rings (they get jewelry components from partners who work with The Blonds), the CND A-Team does do a surprising amount of jewelry work. For this collection they used about 10,000 crystals and embellishments and over 40 feet of chain to nail the Mexican jewelry inspiration behind the nails. A pipette was actually used to sculpt the genie lamp with liquid and powder and I observed Shelena Robinson engineering jump rings and chain to attach gold nail components to a central bracelet on the hand and rings to the fingers. All in all, over 500 hours of work went into creating the looks for The Blonds. The nail team was working right up to the last minute putting the finishing touches on these ghetto fabulous nails.

This particular NYFW marked NTNA first-runner up Lauren Wireman’s chance to participate in the CND Design Lab. Wireman created the crown of thorns nails that walked the runway. She spent most of her time in the Design Lab during Fashion Week working tirelessly on the nails for the collection, but she says she would work NYFW all over again. Her nails featured a striped white background meant to look like a ribbed tank top and the heart and crown were completely sculpted, including barbed wire that was created for the nails.

Since the entire look for The Blonds including hair and makeup were exaggerated for the show, the theatrics of their collection are unparalleled and really drive the theme of the clothing home. Models wore long blonde braids reminiscent of Barbara Eden’s hair in “I Dream of Jeannie,” and a teardrop was applied to the face. They even walked the runway to the “I Dream of Jeannie” theme song and other remixes of rap and Middle Eastern-inspired music. The nails at the Blonds spring/summer are definitely something to dream about.

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