The finest fashions at your fingertips - manicurist extraordinaire Marian Newman interprets the best of the Spring/Summer 2011 collections in a unique series of one-off nail creations. Shown off in the attitudes and affectations of fashion's favourite dirty little habit, smoking, Nick Knight undermines the lingering misconception of smoking as an elegant underline in this arresting fashion film
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Fashion Film
Film by Nick Knight
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Fashion Film
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Fashion Film
Live Stream Q&A
41 Q&A Posts
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Q. Does your artistic vision extend beyond nails on a shoot? And how do you work with hairdressers etc. to achieve that, are there contradicting opinions?
Yes, always. For a shoot, of any kind, the most important aspect is the image. To that length I will always consider the nails as part of the total look as each member of the team will be doing. Logistically, I like to work at the same time as the hairdresser as I can usually get to the hands (or feet) easier. Working with the make up artist can be a bit more crowded and I always stop buffing, for example, if delicate work is being done that need stillness. There are sometimes contradicting opinions. There cannot be too many strong elements in an image as it gets too overloaded and, of course, no one wants their ‘bit’ to be the one that is forfeited. At the end, the image and the purpose of the image is what really matters.
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Q. Beautiful feathers!!!!
Just a little accent to bring in that element of the collection. As is often the case with nails ‘less is more’
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Q. why aren't you shooting fw11 looks?
It’s a project that we have been planning for ages and the recent show season meant putting it back even further. We decided to go ahead with the original plan as we would actually be shooting the current season rather than the next one. Maybe we should do a mini version for each season?
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Q. Hello , Just wondering if hes taking stills from a video whilst recording or is he taking stills ? Steve
There were many cameras in evidence! I think there will be all options available to Nick when he comes to edit it all. I hope there are some stills as I would like to see them! (and maybe put them in my book)
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Q. I am curious to know if we will see the looks posted in the form of digital photographs, on showstudio or elsewhere for view. I appreciate and strongly believe in the exposure of the creative and artistic side of fashion that is not always realized these days. but my only criticism is that unless its going to print or is used for a magazine or campaign allot of the live productions never go to the retouchers and we don't see the final look in detail (like the raquel zimmermann vogue shoot nails used on your book) other than a video still.
As the previous question, I think there will be some stills. When Nick shoots stills he always videos the whole event. When he shoots the moving image he always includes stills. I would like to think that stills from this will be seen somewhere. Maybe they could be on my site (about to undergo construction for blogging) or I’m sure my favourite trade magazine, Scratch, will be happy to have an article about the project. I hope you like the cover of my book?
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Q. Where would be your dream location to shoot?
No, I’m not going to say somewhere exotic. I have never thought about this before but I do get to see a great deal of quite amazing places when shooting on location. I love ‘history’, historical architecture and specifically domestic history. I once saw some amazing parts of Port Eliot in Cornwall and Tyntesfield in Somerset when it was first opened to the public. So, I would love to shoot in hidden parts of houses of great historical interest
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Q. How do you think the modeling business has changed seems the supermodel era? what do you think about all these celebs taking over models jobs and careers?
I think that, like so many professions, everyone thinks they can do it! I am lucky enough to have worked with every one of the original ‘supermodels’ over the years and they are certainly something very special! They know how to coordinate every millimetre of their body at once for the best shot and can perform silently in front of a camera as well as the best actresses. There are many current models that have that skill but there are many, many more that just don’t! Each of the ‘supers’ have a real character and were all so different from each other. Now there are so many that all look alike, can’t move and only have 1 or 2 expressions. Bit harsh but true. Working with the best photographers, like Nick, I do get to work with those that can fit into the current supermodel category and the difference is astonishing.
I think it is very unfortunate that we live in such a ‘celebrity culture’ and the consumer seems to like to buy products that are advertised by celebrities. I can’t blame the manufacturers or ad agencies as they have products to sell but does the average consumer believe that if they buy the product they will suddenly look like the celeb in the ad or even that the celeb even uses the product?? I think that ‘culture’ is boring and it’s time we moved on and found something else to obsess about.
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Q. Where do you get your nail ideas from? I never really notice them, but now as I'm a little more involved in fashion, the nails are really beautiful. And one more thing, have you ever thought about nails for guys? Is there a such thing? Thanks! - Terence. P.S loving the video! Marian is so polite and sweet and funny! :)
Thank you! I hope I’m always polite. I never see the need for impoliteness in any form or any situation and I appreciate you other kind words.
Nails, in fashion, are an important accessory. In other areas, they are an important part of grooming (e.g. you may not notice a healthy, groomed nail but you’d certainly notice an unkempt, grubby one). My ideas will come from all sorts of places: shoes, make up, fabric, silhouette etc. How that translates will depend on what I working on at the time. This time it was all about the nails (hooray!!) I do quite like using unusual materials for nail designs but don’t often get the opportunity. Like the bark I used today, I’ve used scarab beetle wings (no harm caused to any animals!) , wool, photographic gels, fabrics, doyleys, wire and on and on…
I’ve done lots of nails for guys! On a fairly recent shoot with one of the ‘rock royalty’ princes I put 9 silver Minx’s and 1 gold Minx then trashed them. I suppose this is rather a different thing than you are asking but there were lots of nails in Nicks Transgender shoot with Nicola Formichetti! -
Q. How was it working with Lady Gaga?
Fabulous! She is so sweet and kind and so hard working. She has a very strong creative idea of everything she does but she also allows those working with her to have their own suggestions/ideas. Every time I’ve worked with her she has been happy to accept my suggestion which is amazing considering the powerful character that she is in her work. The girl inside that big persona is so lovely everyone wants to do their best for her. My only criticism of her is that I wish she could sit still for a bit longer than 3 seconds haha. (but I can work on nails that are on the move! It’s now part of the job!)
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Q. What is your favorite nail style/color/design in this era of spring/summer trends?
When doing the shows for this season there was a lot of rusts, toffee etc. This was obviously a bit of a trend but, now the sun is out, it’s a bit dull. I love the oranges and the brighter the better! If you can imagine an orange version of hot pink, then that’s it. Also, my designs for Minx are now available and they are ALWAYS on my toes!
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Q. http://www.flickr.com/photos/edoardomodenese/ check out my work ;)
Ooooh! I want to put Copia 4-5 on to nails!!! The stretched plastic is fabulous and something similar to what I was going to do if we had covered the Comme collection!
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Q. Sorry I was away for a moment - not sure if my question got asked: How do you envision the nail varnish of the future? A special effect? A special applicator? What will be your ideal nail varnish? What would it do?
I think the consumer is liking something different at the moment: different finishes, effects, textures. The whole industry has exploded with interest from every quarter. I think the process has been getting very clever and the gel polishes from the salon industry are an answer to most polish wearers problems. However for the home user it’s the effects that will win for now. Later I would expect to see a process that makes application and longevity key.
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Q. why do you love nails so much? that brought u to change your career path from forensic to manicure?
I didn’t know that I did! I discovered the professional nail industry by accident then found the huge scientific side of it that was largely unresearched. That was what caught my attention at the time (and why I write textbooks now). After than various opportunities appeared that have brought to me to today. I wouldn’t have discovered this whole media industry or even fashion if it hadn’t been for Nick. There were no ‘sessions technicians’ in the ‘90’s and Nick needed someone to do some specific nails for a shoot. By a strange course of events I went to his studio to do some nails and her I am doing this film today! That day for that shoot really did change the course of my life and opened up a whole new world for me and those that do this job now. That was a very lucky day for me.
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Q. what do think the role of nails is in fashion image-making?
It is as a very important accessory. In the great scheme of things it is nothing more than that. Sometimes the nails are the focus of the ‘fashion’ but usually they are there to enhance the total look, to finish it off, the detail.
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Q. Hey Marian, what has been the most memorable shoot/runway show you have worked on?
Because I do so much work with Nick Knight, ever shoot of his is memorable. I have worked with him since 1997. Over the years, we've worked with real lions, in the gent's toilets in Gunnersby Park... just about every shoot with Nick is memorable. The most memorable shows have to be McQueen. I was lucky enough to work with McQueen when he was at Givenchy, back at the very start, and on his last show, which was over eighteen months ago now. It's difficult to pick out a single one because they were all amazing. And if I pick out one, within two minutes I'd think of another one.
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Q. Marian, were you always interested in fashion? What did you want to be when you were small?
When I was very small I wanted to be a hairdresser (but I think that was my Mum wanting to have a useful daughter!) When I was at secondary school I always wanted to do something in science and in my last year or so there I really wanted to be involved in forensic science (that or a doctor)
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Q. marian darlin! gorgeous nails!!!!!! please save some for us too!! miss you. send my love to nick. and tell andrea i miss him! kiss from new york. nicola formichetti
We all miss you too Nicola!!!!! Thank you but, you know, there is a special part of my brain where all the nails for you are kept. Big kiss to you and big hug for Gaga xxxxxx
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Q. hi Marian! Love your nails! Do you think of nails as accessories, or body art?
Thank you! The answer to your question is that it depends. I believe they can be anything and everything! Most of what I’m required to do is quite simple but I think that, over the years, I have shown and created nails in so many different forms that it can be seen that they can be anything. For example, the nails for Gaga’s album are body art. The nails I do for most shows are accessories. The nails for today are (I hope) miniature expressions of the key details from a variety of collections. I wish I could do more nails like today though!
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Q. what has inspired you to make nails a focus?
For todays film? This was an idea of Alex Fury’s. He has seen me create some unusual nails for various projects and had the idea of taking a variety of collections, picking out the key elements and bringing them into miniature for nails so they reflect the collection as a whole. I have tried to keep them relatively simple and also to include a variety of techniques to appeal to the live streaming element of the project. I am a believer in the ‘less is more’ approach as the area is so small. It is often tricky to know when to stop but I think my style is always to keep it simple but effective (if possible). The same as the approach to many images: too many elements can just make it confusing and visual overload.
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Q. How far in advance do you usually have to plan ideas for a shoot and how do you come up with the nail designs yourself?
I rarely have any time to plan ideas! I usually just turn up on the day and discover what is happening. I actually quite like that challenge and the boot of my car is full of ‘stuff’ to cover every eventuality. Today’s shoot was a little different as it did need an amount of planning. However, I didn’t premake any of the nails or even try the designs out first and that was deliberate as I thought the evolution of the nails would be more interesting for the streaming.
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Q. Fantastic to be watching you over here in Doha - what a super idea for a live show - Alex Fox
Hey Foxxy! Do you feel an article for Scratch coming on??
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Q. Happy Belated birthday Marian! How would you envision a nail varnish of the future? Maybe a special effect/finishing? A different applicator? What will be your ideal varnish? what will it do?
It would change colour at a whim! (I’m working on it!!)
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Q. Where can I buy pink cigarettes?
They are Sobranie Cocktail. Really good tobacconists sell them.
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Q. can't imagine why - am glued to the screen!!!
My glue is nowhere near you!
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Q. Love and support from all your geeks :P xxxx
Thank you Geeks xxxxxxx
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Q. Big Sis and niece are watching...after all this time have never really seen her "in action" before !!! Wonderful and talented as ever
Thank you!
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Q. what is your best / funniest experience on a shoot or behind stage at a show? xx calum
Hello calum! My very best experience was at the end of a long Dior shoot with your Dad (Nick Knight). It was when he got the sunglasses image with Giselle. It was late and I was upstairs and got a text from Val Garland saying I had better come on set. Oh no! I thought Giselle had broken her nails which was the last thing anyone needed at that time. When I walked on set your Dad was holding the most amazing 10-8 polaroid with the whole team around him (including Val, Sam Mcknight, John Galliano and Stephen Robinson).
The funniest was probably on a different Dior shoot when Giselle made us all get into the Perspex box so she could fire the foam at everyone as she had endured that for 4 days! Or maybe it was the YSL 24hr shoot when you, me and Sam were playing the turkey game? -
Q. Were those straws just normal straws?
They're just straws, and it's just blu-tack. They look a bit more colourful on this table!
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Q. If you didn't do nails on a shoot, what other part of one would you like to do ? Model ? Photographer hairdresser etc
I'd quite like to be a hairdresser actually. Up to ten years old, I wanted to be a hairdresser. I'm not sure if that was an idea of mine or of my mum's. Now, having worked on shoots for so long, I think I would really enjoy being a hairdresser because it's so vital to the picture. The shape of the head, the hair is always in a picture. Or a photographer, or the boss. Just the boss!
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Q. You have been at the top of your profession for so long. Do you still get excited about shoots/celebs and do you think you will ever retire !!!
Thank you that you think that (ooo, that was a lot of ‘t’s). I hope I’m not getting stale or too old!! Yes, I love my job. The celebrity aspect is not so important as I just like people. I am lucky enough to work with the most amazing creative geniuses so almost every shoot is exciting. I’d like to think I’ll retire quite soon but whenever I have a few days off I realise that it is unlikely! While I still get booked I’ll still keep on working.
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Q. What is the most exciting innovation in the nail industry at the moment
Two things - I couldn't seperate them, I think they're both amazing. One of them is Minx - verynoticeable on this table! They really do put fashion on your fingertips, and I find them invaluable. The second are gel polishes, which have open a whole new category into the industry for people who like natural finishes, but not how long they last. But gel polishes I think can triple or even quadruple the nail industry as it stands today. So maybe gel polishes are first, but Minx are a very very close second.
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Q. Hi Marian what would you say is one of the most important piece of equipment a nail technician owns?
If they do the sort of job I do - today, bark! But tomorrow... there's not one. Certainly a nail file, certainly oil and certainly polish remover. If you have those, you can at least do something! A good kit - all eventualities. I doesn't matter how much planning is done, or how much you think you know the story, there can still be changes.
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Q. Who actually made you star struck ??
I'm not star-struck at all, but I must admit there was one occasion when I was so star-struck I didn't think I could speak... Sir Paul McCartney. Because I grew up in an age when the Beatles were the most famous people in the world, but meeting him made me star-struck. And he sung me the chorus to 'Yesterday' across a kitchen table in a location flat.
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Q. Did you have a good birthday yesterday ?
I had a quiet brithday thank you! My birthday is the day before the Queen's, and the same day as Hitler's! Make of that what you will...
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Q. Do you find your creativity is limited?
Working just on nails - absolutely definitely not. Working purely on nails is one of the challenges, trying to create a nail out of anything. It's lik this shoot - how do you translate something down to something that needs to go onto the end of a finger. That's the challenge.
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Q. We're watching you..................Carla & Paula xxx
Hi Carla and Paula! Hello! I hope you can see what a lovely day it is out there, and have a nice easter!
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Q. are you creating fake nails for each look? if so, is that what normally happens on shoots? or do you just give girls great basic manicures?
We are creating fake nails for this shoot because every nail is rather extreme, and more importantly we've been making the nails and having them ready-prepared so the nails just go straight on. That's exactly what we would do with a show with extreme nails, but on a shoot if it's a close-up I'd definitely notuse fake nails - I'd use real nails, or fake nails that look real - what we call 'weekend nails' - they look like they've grown there. It depends on the job - real nails are preferable, but not always possible.
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Q. Hello, what is this beautiful place!
This beautiful place is SHOWstudio
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Q. Marian I know this is not quite about the project but I was wondering Which brand has the best nail polish brush and which brand has the best formula? thanks!
Best brush is trick. The cheaper nail polishes on the market are actually fantastic quality polish, but what lets them down is the quality of the brush. I often recommend that if you come across a really good brush, clean the brush in acetone and keep it, because you can use it with every polish. The best brushes usually come with higher-price polishes. Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent - and Dior have a new brush, a flat brush, which is very different but very nice. In the cheaper ranges, Bourjois has very nice brushes. But every now and again, you'll come across a rogue brush which looks like a chimney sweeps.
Formula is changing right now, because of new European regulations - there's been a bit of a scare with some of the ingredients. They're all changing - but from the lower-cost, Bourjois I always like, and Revlon is fantastic. They invented nail-polish in the twenties, after all. And all the prestige brands are great. They're always changing and developing, but always great.
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Q. what are those pouches that are golding the nail polishes?
It's a roll that I've been using. I found it years ago and I've never been able to find one ever since, so I have them made for me. I use them for colours - one red, one orange etc. They literally do roll up, I put them in my kit and just pick out whatever colour I need and then I have a range of them. So many people ask me about them, so I'm going to make them and sell them online very soon!
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Q. Hello Marian, See you in 30 mins. I hope you are being well looked after. I hope you have been offered a cup of tea. Nick
Hi Nick, we're beavering away! And not panicking anymore...