When the Manicure Became Part of the Look: Ray Chu’s Fans Only Club

At London Fashion Week, Ray Chu’s Fans Only Club made us look twice, and then look down. 

The presentation was full of details that would normally demand your attention first: colour, crystals, sharp tailoring and models moving through a crowded room. But after a few looks, we found ourselves watching their hands.

It was a sunny afternoon, but the presentation space was already sweltering beneath the lights. Photographers moved around the models, flashes going off from every corner, while natural light filtered through the windows behind them. Rather than passing by in a matter of seconds, the models remained in the room, allowing you to get close enough to notice the details that are easily lost on a runway. 

And there was a lot to notice. 

Fans Only Club draws on two Taiwanese references: the Sambucus flower and Taiwan Banana Club, previously introduced in the Pre-Spring 2027 capsule.

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The Sambucus appeared in botanical details and embellishment, while Taiwan Banana Club brought a much more playful hit of colour. 

The result was a collection that moved between tailoring, sheer layers, denim and more relaxed silhouettes without settling into one visual language.

But the nails kept drawing our attention.

There were sheer almond-shaped sets decorated with delicate white Sambucus flowers, alongside translucent blue designs that caught the light like coloured glass. But it was the banana nails that really stood out. 

Food-inspired nail art has become increasingly popular, but bananas felt particularly fitting here. They added another sensory detail to the collection, playful against the clear base, but still tied to the colours and details running through the clothes. 

They echoed Chu's Taiwan Banana Club reference without simply reproducing the print, turning something familiar into a much smaller,

more intimate detail. 

Set against a clear base, each little banana became its own tiny image. Ray Chu took a playful approach to the look, and before long, spotting the hands of each model had become a game in itself. 

The nail art was created by @MVK.UA, and what we particularly liked was that the sets did not feel completely separate from the clothes. Colours and motifs appeared again at the fingertips, creating small connections between the styling and the garments.

It made the manicure feel less like beauty styling and more like another part of the collection. 

One look we kept coming back to was a pale blue tailored co-ord finished with an oversized bow at the neck. We have a weakness for a good bow, and this one was hard to miss. Its long, soft ends fell over the crystal-embellished bodice.

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The blazer was sharply cut, balanced by wide-leg trousers that elongated the silhouette. 

Blue Swarovski ReCreated™ Crystals were fixed across one side of the blazer before continuing down the trouser leg, catching the light as the model moved. 

From behind, the embellishment continued across the shoulder and sleeve before giving way to the blue fabric. 

We also loved that the whole look stayed within the same icy blue palette.

It also made us think about how much fashion now happens below the neckline. 

We talk about bags, shoes and jewellery as the finishing touches, but nails can do the same work in a much smaller space. 

At Ray Chu, they weren't simply there to complement the clothes; they repeated their colours and references on a much smaller scale. 

We found ourselves looking at the clothes, then the hands, then back at the clothes again. 

The more time spent, the harder it became to separate the two. 

By the time we had left, an embarrassing amount of time of the presentation had been spent trying to spot every model's hands.