fabric sourced from the Missoni Home warehouse
in Golasecca, Italy. (The outerwear—the second
collaboration with MatchesFashion.com—will be
available in limited numbers via the Matches and M
Missoni websites, depending on available fabric.)
Patterns and textures range from a subtle heart-and-
diamond motif to a crisscross rainbow plaid, a bold
anemone floral, and a classic soft
blue check. “Every piece is unique
because each is made from maybe
five different fabrics from the ’70s
and ’80s,” Missoni says.
What once seemed an almost
dutiful need to engage with the
concept of eco-friendly fashion
has, in recent years, become
something led by consumers. “Our
customers are increasingly interested in the
conversation around sustainability,” says Natalie
Kingham, the fashion and buying director at Matches.
“Our bigger project is to encourage reducing, reusing,
and recycling, so this project was perfect.”
This marks the first time in M Missoni’s existence that
the brand is focusing on an eco-conscious approach
for its design and manufacturing. “Everyone has to be on
“Everyone has to be
on board,” says
Margherita Missoni. “It’s
a change of mind-set
for the entire company”
board,” Margherita explains. “The design team has to
be thinking about working with existing fabrics; we
may need to ask the people who work in our warehouses
about repurposing buttons that haven’t been used for
10 years. It’s a change of mind-set for the entire company.”
At the same time, Margherita is transparent about
the challenges ahead—both professionally and personally.
“I drive an electric car, and
our home is built to the highest
standards of sustainability, but
there is so much I need to do,” she
says. “I am simply trying to make
the best choices.” She rarely throws
away her own clothes or furniture,
instead upcycling, reupholstering,
or gifting. She buys a lot of vintage.
Throughout the project,
Margherita has spent countless hours looking through
her family’s archives of knits and prints, as well as
her grandfather’s old paintings and ad-campaign
clippings. Her mission: to honor the past while pushing
the company toward the future. “This is really about
everything in Missoni’s world that has lost value,”
she says. “It’s about giving new life to forgotten parts
of the past.”—brooke bobb
When Bella Hadid arrived at
the 2019 CFDA Fashion
Awards with her nails painted pale pink and
the tips Chiclet-white, the throwback
manicure seemed like an understated way
to complement her black-sequined
Michael Kors Collection gown. But when
she reworked the combination a few
weeks later—replete with a sassy swirled
edge, courtesy of nail artist Mei Kawajiri—
the effect read as delicious overstatement.
The attitude-packed style was soon a
staple of New York’s downtown creative set,
seen on model Paloma Elsesser, filmmaker
Pam Nasr, photographer Petra Collins,
and vintage-clothing dealer Olivia La Roche.
“You see it on exotic dancers and soccer
moms,” says La Roche, 29, of the classic
look associated with American alt-heroines,
from Carmela Soprano to Cher Horowitz—
and repurposed on spring runways from
Khaite to Prabal Gurung. “It’s actually the
least ‘French’ manicure you can get.”
Created in 1975 in the United States
by Jeff Pink, the president and CEO of Orly
International, the “French manicure”
proliferated in the years surrounding Y2K,
an era enjoying something of a resurgence.
“It’s definitely ’90s- and ’00s-inspired,”
Kawajiri says of her work with Hadid,
who—like so many of fashion’s new
guard—frequently mines those decades
for inspiration. To keep the style firmly
forward-looking, Los Angeles–based nail
artist Tom Bachik, whose clients include
Victoria Beckham and Katy Perry, opts for
a muted version, in which a softer bone-
white polish is used to mimic the natural
edge, while a sheer pink or nude evens
it out. But Bachik still fields requests for
the “ ’90s tip”—bright like Wite-Out,
but definitely no mistake.—LIANA SATENSTEIN
French
Lessons
A bygone manicure
is having an inspired
second act.
HOT TIP
ONCE A ’90s-ERA NAIL-SALON STAPLE,
THE FRENCH MANICURE HAS FOUND FAVOR WITH
A NEW GENERATION OF IT GIRLS.
BEAUTY
VLIFE
92 NOVEMBER 2019 VOGUE.COM
IVANA CRUZ
