Square Nails Are the Retro Trend That Dominated NYFW

• There were plenty of new beauty trends on display at New York Fashion Week.
• Square nails emerged as a clear favorite on runways and in street style alike.
• Here’s everything you need to know about the resurgence of the square-nail trend from a pro.

If you’ve been keeping up with the looks that came out of New York Fashion Week, you probably have a few new nail trends that you’re ready to try out this fall. A few popular looks were variations of peekaboo or “flipside” nails, aura nails, and Skittles manicures. But one trending nail shape completely dominated the runways: square.

Square nails were spotted all over NYFW, particularly at the Susan Alexandra spring/summer 2023 show. The nail shape, which once saw itself relegated to the shadows of trends past, is finally the centre of some much-deserved recognition once more. “The ’90s were all about square nails in vampy colours, metallic greens and blues, confetti, and of course, a classic french tip,” the show’s key manicurist Holly Falcone tells POPSUGAR.

Related: It’s No Wonder the “Ballerina” Nail Shape Has a Ton of Celeb Fans — It’s Incredibly Sexy

As for why the look is trending at this particular moment? In short: it’s extremely versatile. “The square nail is a classic and works well on any nail length,” Rachel Apfel Glass, founder of Glosslab, tells POPSUGAR. “It also looks great with any colour, french tip, or nail-art design.”

Celebrities like Dua Lipa, Gigi Hadid, and Gwen Stefani have all been spotted with the nail shape, but if you need more proof, maybe learning about a few well-paired nail-art options will convince you. “I love a french manicure for square nails,” Apfel Glass says. “It is so elegant and is always fun to add any colour, or even incorporate a fun colour-blocked nail.”

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Given that french manicures have also been trending lately, you can’t go wrong with this winning combination. Though the nail shape can work for everyone, Apfel Glass finds “those who have long, more narrow nail beds have the best shape suited for square nails. But as with any trend, if you like the way it looks, that’s all that matters.”

For more square-nails inspiration, keep scrolling.