From cow nails and heart-embellished to chic, understated ombré, this year is already rife with inventive new nail-art trends. But for all the Summer-ready designs and negative-space French tips out there, there's one other bold look in particular we've got our eyes on right now — and it's very 1969-meets-1999-meets-2019.
Tie-dye designs might conjure up images of Janis Joplin in a technicolor dress at Woodstock, or maybe the fluorescent tees we all wore to play mandatory sports in middle school. Translate that pattern to nails, however, and it stops feeling decade-specific and starts looking decidedly modern. Even Gigi Hadid took the nostalgic pattern for a spin ahead of her 24th birthday.
Advertisement
The actual process requires a little more finesse than vats of dye and rubber bands: Artists are recreating the effect by carefully painting nail polish onto the nail in individual swirls, then pulling a striping brush through the center before the polish dries to create the spiral effect. Tie-dye has always been about that imperfect homespun finish — but if you can't quite nail it, there's no shame in bringing along the inspiration photos ahead next time you head to the salon. It's all groovy, baby.
1 of 7
Celebrity nail artist Mar y Sol took the tie-dye trend to the next level by adding it as an accent in this neon manicure.
2 of 7
Mei Kawajiri gave Gigi Hadid multicolored tie-dye designs to ring in her 24th birthday.
Advertisement
3 of 7
South Korean nail-artist trailblazer Park Eunkyung of Unistella is one Instagram-favorite manicurist spearheading the trend. Eunkyung ditched pastels and metallics for neon shades in pink, yellow, green and blue, fashioned into a psychedelic swirl and printed onto classic almond-shaped nails.
4 of 7
For an elegant, deconstructed take on tie-dye, consider incorporating a stripe on otherwise neutral nails.
5 of 7
Coffin nails aren't going anywhere fast, according to Instagram nail artist Hannah Schewel, who combined tie-dye with a calligraphy font, a trend that London manicurist Ami Streets already predicted will be huge this year.
6 of 7
If you aren't feeling a whole nail, California-based nail artist Julie Ventura makes a case for the negative space vibe, with a single tie-dye strip down the center. The tie-dye effect looks just as good on short, natural nails as it does on longer acrylics.
7 of 7
A matte top coat creates a dry, dusty finish that pairs perfectly with a sunset-inspired color scheme.
Advertisement