Behind the scenes at London Fashion Week

REBECCA HITCHON reports on the backstage nail antics at Edward Crutchley’s AW24 showcase

With Marie-Louise Coster.

I woke at 6am, ready to travel to London for its 40th Fashion Week and eager to see what autumn/winter 2024 holds for both fashion and nails. Marie-Louise Coster, lead manicurist for the Edward Crutchley show, often invites me backstage to witness her collaborations with the designer – who amongst running his eponymous contemporary luxury label, works with brands including Louis Vuitton. We met with the rest of the nail team, then joined the hair and make-up professionals for an 8.30am briefing, ready for the models’ call time of 9am.

The show setting was Ironmongers’ Hall, Barbican: a country house with historical links to the iron trade and monarchy. The décor included paintings of of figures and locations from British history, intricate stained glass windows, stunning chandeliers and extravagant oak panelling. One of Crutchley’s previous shows was held in the venue and I could see why: the banqueting hall provided a grand, atmospheric setting for the designer’s detailed fabrics and statement-making looks. Next to this was the drawing room, which served as a space to shoot the collection’s lookbook and for models to stand in their line-up prior to the show.

The nail team comprised Marie-Louise, Georgina Atkins, Beth Griffiths, Viola Szajkó and Keshia Lewis. They spent much of their time downstairs in the luncheon room, where beauty stations were set up to tend to models. Many of the production specialists, styling and beauty teams and models were returning from past seasons, and hugged as they reunited. “For this show, we graduated the intricate looks of the nails,” revealed Marie-Louise. “The collection starts as angelic, becomes earthy then turns sultry. The idea was to transform from the angel to the devil.” To match this theme, half of the models wore natural nails, prepped meticulously before a coat of ORLY Shining Armor Topcoat was applied.

The remaining models sported pre-made press-ons, decorated in ORLY Gel FX gel polish and either red, gold or bronze foil. Shape was also important, and from the index finger onwards, nails were cut and filed to the same length, forming a square shape with the hands, which mirrored the box shapes of extreme shoulder pads on clothes. Flamboyant, androgynous styling continued throughout, with the Wild West and Greek history and mythology among the collection’s influences.

“The collection starts as angelic, becomes earthy then turns sultry. The idea was to transform from the angel to the devil.”

Scheduled for 11am: an hour before the show, the rehearsal turned up the pressure for the backstage teams and they rushed to get looks finished. Shortly after the intended time, we sat down to watch models weave through benches in the banqueting hall. Corrections were explained and models returned to the drawing room for final styling touches. Then it was a nervous, hushed wait as we heard guests arriving and the runway music began: a juxtaposition to the cheers as the models returned upon the show’s conclusion.