PARIS, Oct 2, 2011/ — Vivienne Westwood, the grand dame of British fashion, presented her Spring/Summer 2012 line at Le Grand Hotel Intercontinental in Paris on September 30, 2011 and employed Minx nails to complete the childlike, colorful theme of the collection.

Celebrated UK nail stylist Marian Newman met with Vivienne and her husband, Andreas Kronthaler, the day before the show to discuss nail fashion options.

“I knew the collection had many powerful messages, but the overall theme was childlike, individual, and a little bit trashed,” explained Marian. “Together, we looked at a variety of Minx colors and designs that I felt matched this theme, and Andreas picked out the Minx that was the best fit.”

Andreas selected the standard Minx designs of Flowers, Turquoise Chrome, Japanese Blossom, Oil Slick, Shell, and Black. Marian also proposed applying the Minx coatings imprecisely, so that the coating was partly on the finger and partly on the nail, in order to give the impression of a child who has been playing at decorating her nails and is not very good at it.

“I also suggested adding crystals and even blobs of nail polish to underscore the playfulness of the nails, and to create an individuality in the nail fashion,” Marian explained.

Both Andreas and Vivienne immediately loved the idea, and asked Marian not to plan out each application but to keep them spontaneous. “The next day, when I saw Vivienne backstage before preparation, I asked her if I should just go off and play now, and she said ‘Yes, you go off and play!’” Marian laughed.

Andreas also selected a Pewter Gradient Minx coating for the models’ toes, with a metallic sheen that shimmered on the runway.

Marian and her team of Adam Slee, Naja, Agathe Pons and Delphine applied Minx to all 36 models for the show, and Minx co-founders Dawn Lynch-Goodwin and Janice Jordan also assisted backstage. “The end result was really wonderful, and Andreas said they were the best nails ever,” Marian concluded.

Photos by Becky Maynes