NYFW 2024 Nail Report
A celebrity nail pro gives us a preview of what’s on trend for Fall 2024
Celebrity nail artist and industry consultant Pattie Yankee has been creating nails for New York Fashion Week (NYFW) runway shows for over 25 years. Yankee is highly sought after by designers for her ability to translate their collections into statement-making nails. She’s also a Long Islander, so she’s giving LI Beauty Scene backstage access to the nail inspo and top trends we can expect to see more of in 2024.
The overall vibe from the shows: nude. “I didn’t do any bold colors this time, which is surprising,” Yankee says. However, these nudes all came with a twist: special embellishments or adornments such as metal balls, pearlized top coats, and velvety-textured finishes on every finger (no accent nails). Yankee breaks down three of the shows she worked on this past NYFW that are easy to recreate at home. These were fall shows, but you don’t have to wait until fall to try these trends! Shop the looks and get the steps below.
Pamella Roland
Vital Agibalow, @VITALphotoNY
Location: Starett-Lehigh Building
Designer inspo: Roland’s collection was inspired by a recent trip to Belgium, where she was taken with the blend of its historical charm and modern elegance. Roland noted that many of the buildings have a velvet-like finish.
The nails: The goal was to create a “classic nail with a modern elegance,” Yankee says. The look was done on KISS Bare But Better Nails in Embrace It. The faux nails were painted to have a soft pink “cat eye” look, a trending style created with a magnet to shift the particles around, giving the polish a velvet-like finish. Insider secret: Many NYFW nails are done on faux press-on nails to save time backstage and make it easy on the nail pros at the next show the models walk. (“Good backstage etiquette,” says Yankee.) The KISS nails were applied with Pattie Yankee Polish (PYP) Hold Tight Super Stick Glue Tabs instead of liquid glue for this show.
Private Policy
Vital Agibalow, @VITALphotoNY
Location: Ideal Glass Studios
Designer inspo: The “Wild, Wild World” collection delves into the realms of artificial intelligence (AI) and its implications on society — “the dichotomy between fear and excitement.”
The nails: The goal was to create the look of mannequin hands with robotic hardware. Yankee achieved the look with pre-glued Inspire Nails from her collection, a clear almond-shaped nail. She then applied two coats of PYP in Bare-ly There and added two silver beads to each nail while still wet. She sealed the look with her top coat.
Cucculelli Shaheen
Vital Agibalow, @VITALphotoNY
Location: New York Supreme Court Building
Designer inspo: “Caught between the twisted stars — a feverish, dreamy city.” The evening wear collection was moody and romantic with a New York edge.
The nails: “We rounded the model's natural nails to a perfect shape before applying PYP Support Base Coat. Next, we used one coat of High Hopes, a semi-sheer nude, followed by a coat of Pearl of Wisdom to create a sheer, iridescent, pearly finish to the nails.”
To create these NYFW looks, Yankee assembled a team of nail pros from all over the country, including a few Long Island-based nail artists: Shakira Smith of Patchogue, @shaynailsz, Ashley Rivera of Copiague, @thenail_joint, and Kara, @theheauxlynail of Copiague. Follow @Pattieyankee and her team on Instagram for more on-trend nail designs.
