Welcome back to another week of inspiring women in beauty. This time, we’re focusing on Bernadette Thompson, legendary manicurist and trailblazer on the nail scene. She creates bold, blinged looks for both the fashion world and celebrities.
Growing up in New York, Thompson was already experimenting with nail designs. She credits her creativity to her youth in a low-income neighborhood. As a manicurist, her big break came when Mary J. Bilge’s sister connected Thompson to the famous singer-songwriter. Soon, Thompson became the top manicurist for hip-hop and R&B artists.
Thompson has worked on editorial sets, fashion shoots, and with top artists at the time. The realm of nail art was still relatively new, and Thompson had to fight for her designs. Eventually, nail art and manicurists became more and more common in the fashion world.
For Thompson, she believes in giving credit when credit is due. While designers are gaining more inspiration from the hip-hop scene, Thompson wants to ensure that all sources are properly acknowledged. She’s a big advocate for addressing the issues of appropriation in the beauty industry, which commonly overlooks the true origin of some of the most popular trends.
Thompson continues to work in the fashion and beauty industry and still does her own nails.
Tune in next week as we highlight more amazing women in beauty! Check out our blog for the past weeks’ posts!
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