SZA’s Gucci French Manicure Has an Unexpected Accent

Remember when accent nails were a kind of new concept? This was years ago, before nail art really took off. We’d be like, “Ooh, your nails are hot pink, but each ring-finger nail is pale pink? Crazy!” Or when someone would put a rhinestone on just their pinky nail—so novel! Obviously, we’ve come a long way in terms of nail creativity, but I have to admit, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen a memorable accent nail. But then SZA stepped up.

On Tuesday, July 1, SZA’s nail artist, Cookiee, shared a carousel of videos and photos to her Instagram grid showing off her latest work for the singer-songwriter, and it’s an unexpected combination that pays tribute to two things SZA loves: Gucci and Africa. And they’re paired in such a gorgeous way.

First of all, I love a nontraditional French manicure—anything that strays from the typical white tip—and this manicure does that so fashionably. SZA’s long, almond-shaped nails were topped off with the famous Gucci print: little dots and G’s in beige and tan.

That alone would have been cool enough, but Cookiee didn’t stop there. “Gucci print nails with Africa outlined in gold for my talented bby @sza,” she wrote in the caption. For the Africa accent, she used a charm shaped like the continent in red, black, and green with gold around the edges—one placed on a ring finger and one placed on a middle finger.