Manicurist Jin Soon Choi flips the bird to nail art with her line of classic lacquers
It’s a nail art–filled world, but Jin Soon Choi isn’t buying it. Manhattan’s favourite manicurist launches her own lacquer line, and Celia Ellenberg makes an appointment.
See Jin Soon Choi’s nail polish collection »
“I hate filing,” says Jin Soon Choi, seated for a pedicure. The nail industry veteran with nearly 25 years of polishing experience winces as an aesthetician at her Upper East Side salon drags an emery board across her well-maintained toes. It was her first bombshell of the day; the second followed shortly thereafter. “High fashion doesn’t go with nail art,” she deadpans, thus denouncing the abstract expressionist movement that has taken over the backstage nail game for the past four-plus seasons (never mind the pink, silver-trimmed manicures at Chanel’s Fall couture presentation in July).
So when conceiving her own 12-piece shade range (from $18, jinsoon.com), Choi focused on “beautiful colour and high gloss,” setting it apart in the current market—where at-home gel kits and magnetic varnishes are standard fare—by formulating it without chunky glitter and selling it minus coordinating art pens or DIY sticker sets. At a time when pure, unadulterated polish is relatively rare, Choi is ushering in a new day of style through simplicity. “I want to challenge [people] with a classic but modern way of thinking about fashion,” she says. It’s an area in which she happens to be particularly well versed; not only is she Steven Meisel’s go-to editorial nail artist, she’s also the trusted runway resource for designers like Prabal Gurung and Derek Lam.
There have been collaborations before. Choi did a collection of colours for M.A.C three years ago, and has also consulted on ad campaigns and colour conception for Joe Fresh, heading up its first New York Fashion Week cameo backstage at Doo.Ri’s Fall 2011 show (“I love Canadians,” Choi says).
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