For Ashtiani, the nail look is extremely graphic but still has a softness.

Photography courtesy Essie

See more of the nail art from Ashtiani Spring 2013 »
Last season I had the chance to work backstage during Toronto Fashion Week with the team from Tips Nail Bar. This season, the tables were turned: Essie invited me to experience what it’s like to be a model (er, nail-wise, that is) by getting the look for Ashtiani Spring 2013 applied on my own nails. Rita Remark, the lead Essie nail artist for World MasterCard Fashion Week, was leading the charge backstage, working with the team from Pinky’s Nails to design and apply creative manicures for seven shows throughout the week. (That’s more than 850 nails that need to be prepped and painted beforehand!)
As soon as I arrive Rita sits me down and gets to work. After all, when you’re backstage it’s all about doing as much as possible as quickly as possible: With a dozen-plus models per show and only a few hours blocked off for hair and makeup, you’ll often find the nail techs squeezed between stations, kneeling at the models’ feet in a scramble to get every last nail finished.

For Ashtiani, the nail look is extremely graphic but still has a softness. “When [Golnaz Ashtiani] told me about the show she said that it was very much inspired by ’60s France,” Rita explained. After looking at images of long, pointy nails they settled on a softer almond shape—though as soon as she applies the first one on my hand it’s clear that this is a very editorial look. The fake nail extends an inch past the tip of my finger. It’s impossible to resist wiggling and I strain to get a better look.
Rita is quick to notice my excitement: “You can’t ignore these nails! That’s the great thing about nails for fashion week, they can be fantasy or they can be everyday,”