Celebrity manicurist Michelle Humphrey gave Andy Murray a manicure with his very own nail designs during Wimbledon, it has been revealed.
Humphrey, whose work has been featured on the digits of Dua Lipa, Cate Blanchett, Katy Perry, and, most recently, Adele, tells The Independent that creating the exclusive nail designs with the tennis star was “really special”.
Murray showed off his manicure, which included a tennis ball design on his ring finger, on his Twitter account ahead of his first match at SW19.
The designs were created for the American Express Fan Experience at Wimbledon and fashioned with gender neutrality in mind.
Humphrey says that the three-time Grand Slam winner “even ended up playing a couple of games” with his freshly-painted nails.
“We didn’t have time to paint more nails but hopefully next year!” she adds.
Speaking about the creative process, Humphrey says: “Wimbledon is such an iconic tournament and to have inspiration from Andy Murray who has an amazing connection and history with the event made the process really special.
“The final designs were inspired by Andy and the tennis theme – these included strawberries and cream, tennis ball and tennis net, and also the iconic purple and green colourways.
“Andy and I talked all things tennis and I even painted a tennis ball nail for him to show the kids at home.”
The pair came up with and tested “lots of different designs” in trying to find the perfect version.
“The final inspiration came from the iconic visuals associated with Wimbledon and some current trends for this summer in nail art,” Humphrey explained.
“The designs are modern, simplistic and bold, and make use of the negative space trend that everyone is loving right now.”
The London-based nail designer, whose portfolio includes high fashion magazines such as Vogue, Elle, Tatler, Harper’s Bazaar, and more, said her personal favourite design from the set is the abstract purple and green colourway.
“The design is trend-led and complements the look of the Championships without being obvious,” she says.
There were mixed reactions to Murray posting about his nails on social media, with some people accusing him of trying to get “brownie points”.
However, the response was largely positive and Humphrey says she has seen an uptick in men “looking after their nails and getting more creative with nail art”.
“These nails are for everyone,” she says. “We are also seeing it at the American Express Fan Experience on site at Wimbledon, where people have been asking to copy Andy Murray’s tennis ball look.
“The tennis ball or net has been most popular amongst the men. I love to see men be more creative with nail art and enjoy some TLC with a manicure.”
