Birkenstock Enters Nail Polish as Summer Trend Coverage Peaks

Analysis

The week's biggest brand story is Birkenstock's move into colour cosmetics, with the German footwear label launching its own nail polish collection ^[1]. It arrives as summer nail trend forecasting reaches its seasonal peak: Who What Wear has published a researched round-up of seven "chicest" nail trends for summer ^[2], Stylist has run a parallel piece on seven nail trends experts predict will be everywhere this summer ^[3], and Allure has set out its summer 2026 nail colour trends ^[4]. For UK readers, the Stylist and Who What Wear pieces are the most directly relevant, while Refinery29's crisp-and-fresh winter 2026 trend guide is aimed at its Australian audience and runs counter-seasonally ^[5].

Colour advice for older consumers is emerging as a distinct editorial strand. British Vogue has published a guide to the four most flattering nail colours for mature hands ^[6], while Southern Living argues there is a single nail colour tweak every woman should make after 50, focused on dark polish on mature hands ^[7]. The two pieces suggest age-specific shade guidance is being treated as a standing service format rather than a one-off.

On the treatment and formulation side, Marie Claire UK has addressed nail ridges — framed as normal but bothersome — with advice on both treating and disguising them, including polish selection ^[8]. InStyle has rounded up ten long-lasting polishes it says keep nails chip-free for two weeks without a curing light, pointing to continued demand for gel-like wear without LED equipment ^[9]. Hyphen has examined whether nail polish can be wudu-friendly, covering halal polish, henna stains and the Japanese manicure ^[10].