Ariana Grande, Dua Lipa and Gigi Hadid love her nails: Japanese nail artist Mei Kawajiri’s rise to fame
- Mei Kawajiri’s maximalist creations have won high-profile fans from singers and models to brands including Off-White, Moschino and Gucci
- She advocates for more respect for the profession – ‘it takes so much patience and incredibly steady hands to create art on such a small canvas’
From singers Dua Lipa, Ariana Grande and Rosalia to brands including Off-White, Moschino and Gucci, the maximalist nail art of Mei Kawajiri has a lot of high-profile fans.
The post-pandemic world is embracing messy, bold and colourful prints to uplift moods and help the world transition back to normality. As excess becomes the new norm, Kawajiri, who has been pushing the boundaries of nail art since 2006, is having a moment.
“Back then, high fashion brands did not focus on nails, and they were always bare, simple, safe,” says the native of Kyoto, in Japan. “I have shown that nails don’t have to be safe to be elevated.”
Kawajiri started her career in the mecca of maximalism: Tokyo’s Harajuku neighbourhood, which has been home to the most eclectic fashion since the 1990s.
The neighbourhood spawned the Lolita, gyaru, B-gal, kawaii and decora aesthetics, among others, which were popularised worldwide through street fashion publications such as Fruits magazine, and which left a permanent footprint on Mei’s art.
