Fashion Week
The Most Jaw-Dropping Nail Designs From NYFW Spring/Summer 2026
Featuring fishnet manis and pierced tips.
New York Fashion Week never fails to be a source of endless inspiration. But while you’ll have to wait months before the clothes hit the shelves, the beauty looks are a different story. The trends coming down the runway can be copied pretty much immediately — no pre-order required — and this season has plenty of nail inspo to bring to your next appointment.
Though the manicures on the runways were created to complement Spring/Summer 2026 collections, many of them align perfectly with what nail pros say are currently trending. Think: jewelry-inspired accents, milky white polish, and fresh, unexpected greens.
These statement-making designs mirror the larger beauty mood taking over the season. As Bustle’s deputy beauty editor Rachel Lapidos noted, this round of runway hair and makeup leaned “experimental, playful, and anything but predictable” — and nails are following suit. At Grace Ling, models wore extra-long tips decorated with piercings and dangling charms, while Off-White showcased an entirely new take on “negative space French.” Even the neutral nail looks, which were front and center at Eloquii and Prabal Gurung, felt special thanks to their high gloss finishes.
Keep scrolling for nine NYFW manicures you’ll want to copy from now through next spring.
1. Inverted French Tips
To balance out the bold colors in OFF-WHITE’s SS26 collection, celebrity nail artist Coca Michelle wanted to create a subtle manicure that still made a statement. The result was this “inverted French” design, which features a negative space line drawn across a muted, solid color. “It’s a playful twist on the traditional French mani,” Michelle said in a statement.
2. Stained Glass Nails
Mossy green is having a moment, and this glassy nail art — spotted at Grace Ling — gives the earthy tone an elevated twist. The marble swirls and slightly metallic finish create a textural, stone-like quality — almost like polished jade — and the long, sharp tips add an editorial touch.
3. Sporty Stripes
A few simple red lines can turn a plain white mani into something sporty and chic. The models at Alice + Olivia showed off two different takes on the tennis-inspired manicure trend using a crisp white base and a true red polish, care of Salon Perfect’s Pillow Talk and Salsa Dance.
4. Pearly Whites
Opaque white polish is shaping up to be one of the season’s biggest nail trends — and it made a strong showing on two different NYFW runways. Each interpretation proved the shade’s versatility: At Kijibae x Kim Shui, nail artist Sojin Oh leaned into a stark, squared-off finish, while the Salon Perfect team at Alice + Olivia added a pearlescent sheen atop almond-shaped tips. Both styles confirm that crisp white can look just as modern in its purest form as it does with a subtle, luminous twist.
5. Pierced Tips
Forget metallic studs: at Grace Ling, models hit the runway with full-on nail piercings. Paired with dagger-sharp tips, the look was edgy enough to feel almost dangerous. And the best part? The way the silver hardware gleamed against matte neon polish — proof that maximalist nails can have plenty of bite.
6. Charmed Accents
Other models at Grace Ling showcased nail charms — a detail that offered a softer, more traditionally feminine spin on jewelry-inspired accents. Consider this your sign to take manicure art beyond the nail’s surface.
7. Glossy Neutrals
“Lip gloss nails”— aka neutral pinks with a high-shine finish — are sticking around this season, and are one of the easiest runway-worthy looks to create on your own. For the perfect polish pick, try Sundays B.03 Primer and No.49 Nail Polish (which is exactly what nail artist Amy Ling Lin used at the Prabal Gurung show), or Glamnetic’s Sheer Pink press-ons à la the models at Eloquii.
8. Chrome Claws
As if stiletto nails weren’t sharp enough on their own, Michelle (who was also responsible for the manis at Grace Ling) took things one step further by turning the models' tips into full-blown weapons. Her secret? Sculpting the sword shape out of OPI’s Gelevate tips. The ultra-edgy design served as the perfect complement to the liquid molten-inspired looks that came down the runway.
9. Fishnet Nails
Leave it to Dua Lipa to be so far ahead of a mani trend that she rocks it before it comes down the runway. The singer (and perennial mani muse) kicked off the North American leg of her tour with fishnet nails — and just days later, models at Kijibae showcased their own spin on the textural look.
