FOR HERMÈS AND NIKE LOGOS

during lockdown, podcaster and streetwear designer Jourdan Ash ordered a set of custom handpainted pressons from nail artist Alex Smith, who sold them online while she couldn’t see clients. The design was a riff on BAPE’s camouflage pattern, and Ash liked it so much that once appointments became available again, she booked a session with Smith for gel extensions (from $120 for single colors; from $170 for custom designs) and has gone back for Nike Air Max–inspired nails, a set with “Pisces” written in a nameplate font, and a $2 bill design (Louis Vuitton’s monogram and the Hermès logo are other popular Smith designs). The designs look stamped on, Ash says, but Smith paints everything by hand without stencils. “She’s so detailed I know my nails are never going to look like another girl’s nails,” says Ash. Alyssa Ackerman, Hypebae’s socialmedia coordinator, has gone to Smith for over a year now—most recently for a set in gold, dark teal, and brown based on the Nike x Jacquemus collaboration—and says the same thing: “If I’m tapping through Instagram and see someone’s nails, I can tell if it was done by Alex or not.”