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2022-08-27
“Colored nails for men is the trend” I don't see nail polish as something 'feminine' by Marlies van Leeuwen.
In 2007 The lady in Blu forecasted ‘Men Cosmetics’ followed up trend forecasting presentations all over the World from Seoul to Barcelona, to almost all high end and mass market cosmetic labels from Chanel to L’Oreal to the top ik Korean beauty labels.
Anno 2022 it hits the festivals (and the streets) Read the full article in dutch and my in put as a trend forecaster below in an English resume
At the Lowlands festival, where many trends are set, it was obvious: men are also painting their nails in 2022. “When designer Jean Paul Gaultier tried it, we weren't ready. Now it is.
Black nails or color mix match, complete with patterns: painted nails are a standard part of his appearance for Harry Styles, the biggest pop star of the moment. And anyone who watches videos on TikTok will see that generation Z in particular (born between 1996 and 2015) is no longer surprised by a man with painted nails.
Styles feels that very well: he has been bringing his own jars of paint to the man/woman/x for a few months now. He is by no means the only one, rapper Tyler, the Creator, also has a nail polish line in different colors (notably no black) and fellow rapper Machine Gun Kelly also sells a whole palette of lacquer colors. Fashion house Chanel also jumps on the trend, but with its malepolish sticks to safer black and natural ('with a wide brush, especially for men's nails)
Trendforecaster Antoinette van den Berg, also known as The Lady in Blu, forecasted it fifteen years ago, when she saw a band with nail polish on MTV. ,,I saw future trend coming and went searching the history to understand the relationship between men and cosmetics and so check if it would be possible for this to continue. We now see cosmetics as something feminine, but that wasn't always the case. Think of the Egyptians, where men used eyeliner. If you zoom out, you can see that it might be strange what we think now of a man who paints his nails.”
Feminization
According to her, the fact that it is becoming more common has everything to do with the rise of what she calls 'the third gender'. “We think less and less in terms of just male-female, but it is more fluid, with everything in between,” says Van den Berg. Moreover, society is feminized. In the business world, women are increasingly valued, with the result that sensitivity, which is seen as feminine, is more accepted. Men take on more care responsibilities. We no longer find it strange that they use day cream. Designer Jean Paul Gaultier tried it decades ago with nail polish for men. We weren't ready then, but we are now."