Animal Print Is Winter 2026’s Coolest Nail Trend

Here at Who What Wear, we know that fashion informs beauty and vice versa. The two subjects are inextricably linked, and it can be difficult to discuss one without the other. Take butter yellow, for instance. It was *the* color of 2025. It started working its way into our outfits and eventually came to influence our nail color.

That’s just one example of the way fashion and beauty intermingle. Animal print is another. It’s been trending in the fashion world for months—skirts, bags, shoes, belts, you name it!—and it’s officially entered the beauty scene. In fact, it’s poised to become the coolest nail trend of winter 2026. Don’t believe me? Celebs have been cosigning the trend for months. Hailey Bieber, Kylie Jenner, and Dua Lipa have all recently sported animal-print manicures. Ahead, see five celeb takes that will dominate this winter—from snakeskin to tortoiseshell and leopard print.

First, we have Hailey Bieber‘s mismatched cheetah-print mani. She recently posted an up-close picture of her signature almond-shaped nails on Instagram Stories. I love how each nail alternates between the full print and a French manicure.

Celebrity nail artist Zola Ganzorigt recently posted this video showing Vanessa Hudgens’s stunning leopard-print nails. Everything about this manicure is perfect—the length, the shape, the print, and the cool, velvet finish.

Kourtney Kardashian also seems to approve of the leopard-print trend. She posted this picture to Instagram Stories a while back. It’s been saved in my phone ever since. I love the sleek, elongated shape of her nails and the chic matte finish.

Ganzorigt also created this cool snakeskin-print manicure for Kylie Jenner. Snakeskin feels edgier and more unexpected than more popular prints.

Don’t forget tortoiseshell, as per Dua Lipa. It’s the timeless and sophisticated take on animal print. And while it’s always been a classic for fall and winter, it’s destined to be even more popular in winter 2026. You heard it here first.