The Met Gala's theme influenced the biggest nail trend of the night

The Met Gala always serves as a backdrop of the year's best trends in fashion and beauty, but the 2025 theme 'Superfine: Tailoring Black Style' proved to be exceptionally fruitful as far as trend forecasting is concerned.

Zendaya, Megan Thee Stallion and Aimee Lou Wood introduced us to double-ended lip pencils that we suspect will completely streamline our handbag essentials in the months ahead. Sabrina Carpenter's hair at the Met Gala and the subsequent after party was a masterclass in modern blow dry techniques. And we discovered all we need is $6 to take our at-home manicures to the next level.

But affordable nail hacks weren't the only trend spotted on the digits of the Met Gala's celebrity guest list as we found out when we spoke to celebrity nail artist's Zola Ganzorigt and Coca Michelle.

The pair were responsible for an almost alarming amount of nail art on the biggest night in fashion. Ganzorigt catered to clients like Sabrina Carpenter, Sydney Sweeney, Tracee Ellis Ross, Jennie, Kendall and Kylie Jenner, Demi Moore and Sofia Richie Grainge, while Michelle dealt with Cardi B, Tyla, Alton Mason, Central Cee and James Frazier. 

"Met [Gala] nails are a collaboration that takes teamwork, and it’s not just one day. It’s always a Met weekend for me. I get my clients ready all weekend long and do final touches on Monday," Ganzorigt explains to BEAUTYcrew. "It’s easier to do press on nails if the nail design is complicated or takes a long time, [but] it’s really up to my client’s preference. Some of my clients love press ons for an event, [and] some of my clients prefer their natural nails."

However, nail shape preferences aside, there were three distinct nail trends that Ganzorigt and Michelle say they spotted on the Met Gala red carpet — keep scrolling to discover the next big trends before your next nail appointment.

1/ Tailored tips

"I love seeing how everyone interprets the year’s theme. For me, 'Superfine: Tailoring Black Style' was about creating sophisticated nail looks for each of my clients in their own way. I’m sure the sophisticated, tailored looks will be trending for months to come," Ganzorigt tells BEAUTYcrew.

"I spotted pinstripes on Tyla (done by myself) and a lot of black and white graphic nail art," Michelle iterates. "I think these will continue to trend for this season."

While Michelle used a combination of raindrop rhinestones and line work to emulate pinstripes, Ganzorigt turned to an unfamiliar medium to achieve a hand-stitched effect for Sabrina Carpenter's manicure.

"Sabrina’s sister Sarah had the idea for her nail look. Sarah, Sabrina, Jared (her stylist), and I planned this look ahead of time and sampled a few options before deciding on this one. It was a really fun, team collaboration," Ganzorigt explains.

"Sabrina’s nail look took an entire day to perfect," she went on to say. "I used OPI’s new GELevate tips and a neutral Bare My Soul ($11.95 from S+S) base. I even had to sew the threads into the nails at points."

2/ Neutral nails

Considering the fact that Black Dandyism uses bold colour as a means of cultural resistance it's unsurprising that Met Gala attendees like Kendall and Kylie Jenner, and Tracee Ellis Ross opted for neutral nails to allow their sartorial choices the opportunity to sing. 

"Tracee wore a pink multi-coloured Marc Jacobs suit. We wanted something sophisticated and true to her personal style for her nails," Ganzorigt tells BEAUTYcrew. "That’s how we decided on soft pink neutral nails. I used two coats of OPI It’s a Girl! ($24.95 from Oz Hair & Beauty) and one coat of Bare My Soul ($11.95 from S+S)."

3/ Velvet manicures

We first identified velvet nails as a nail trend to watch in 2024, but after the Met Gala it's evident that the textural look is very much still here to stay. Angel My Linh, Nigerian singer Tems' nail artist, used a combination of green cat eye gel, and lime and mirror chrome powders to create her reflective 3D set.

And according to Coca Michelle the decision to utilise the trend for Cardi B's manicure was a natural one after seeing the rapper's velvet suit for the evening.

"The inspiration was taken from [Cardi B's] attire, which was designed by Burberry and styled by her stylist Kollin," explains Michelle. "My assistant Laticia and I created a few samples of different greens beforehand to ensure that this was the correct shade to complement her look. We landed on a combination of OPI Suzi, the First Lady of Nails ($11.95 from S+S), a crème shade and Ozitively Elphaba (limited edition), a shimmery green in a similar tone to create the reflective velvet set."

While, Zola Ganzorigt is not shy about sharing her love for cat eye nail polish — it's something she uses regularly on her clients, including Sydney Sweeney at this year's Met.

"For Sydney, we wanted something classic but eye catching. We added some length with OPI’s GELevate and since the dress was shimmery, we wanted the nails to be more on the simple side but still have their moment," Ganzorigt shares. "We went with Bubble Bath ($17.46 from The Iconic) on the base with the cat eye french tip and a golden outline to match her dress’ gold brooch."

Main image credit: @sabrinacarpenter

Looking for more manicure inspiration? These are the nail trends to know in 2025.