It’s been a busy few days for Dawn Sterling. The New York City-based nail artist, known as Nail Glam, created some of the 2025 Met Gala‘s most exciting manicures over the course of a few days. Naturally, each and every design for the “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” event was completely bespoke, perfectly aligning with the theme Tailored for You.
Starting on Saturday, Sterling schlepped around her nail kits—four cases she jokes are “the weight of a ten-year-old kid, each”—hotel room to hotel room to get the looks finished. “I have to collaborate with the artist, the stylist, the rest of the glam team to conceptualize the story we want to tell,” she adds. “That’s how the perfect manicure comes together.” Beyond, Sterling talks us through the manicures for yesterday’s Met Gala.
Alicia Keys
“For Alicia, we wanted her nails to echo the elegance of her suit—clean, polished, and deeply personal. We matched the nail color to the exact shade of her suit and added sleek extensions for a touch of glam. The standout detail were custom buttons on each nail, identical to the ones on her suit, engraved with her initials and her husband’s.”
Paloma Elsesser
“For Paloma’s Met Gala look, we went hyper-real. Her character is a futuristic dandy caught in a time capsule, called for something uncanny and unexpected. I custom-mixed a yellow cream gel with hints of brown, white, and clear to mimic the tones of her natural nail plate, layering it beneath extensions for depth. Then I feathered in the faintest brown lines across the top to push the realism even further.”
Adut Akech
“For Adut’s look, she’s completely covered in Swarovski, so we kept the nails refined and understated—natural across the board, with a single flash on the ring finger, encrusted in Swarovski crystals. Quiet elegance to complement the full shimmer.”
Ashley Graham
Chappell Roan
“For Chappell Roan’s Met Gala moment, we drew inspiration directly from the swatches her design team shared—layering rich textures, bold pinks, and metallic finishes. Using OPI, we created a sculptural pink jade eye at the center of each nail, framed by a striking outline of pink, metallic, and white. The result is a futuristic and femme nail moment.”
Jerry Lorenzo
“I’ve been working with Jerry Lorenzo for years, and together we’ve defined a signature look. For this Met Gala moment, we kept it understated but elevated, a clean buffed manicure with a hit of 24K gold chrome on the thumbs only. It’s his signature flex, minimal and precise.”
Hailey Bieber
“For the pearlised effect on her hands, I custom-mixed Funny Bunny, Top Coat Tin Man Can, and Put It in Neutral to get that soft, luminous finish.”
Anok Yai
This article was first published on Vogue.com.
