• Intelligencer
  • The Cut
  • Vulture
  • The Strategist
  • Curbed
  • Grub Street
  • Subscribe to the Magazine Give a Gift Subscription Buy Back Issues Current Issue Contents
    Subscribe to New York Magazine
  • Subscribe
  • Profile
    Sign Out
The Cut
  • Style
  • Self
  • Culture
  • Power
Style
  • Fashion
  • Beauty
  • Parties & Red Carpet
  • Fashion Shows
  • Cathy Horyn
  • The Cut Shop
Self
  • Health & Wellness
  • The State of the Uterus
  • Parenting
  • Advice
  • Sex & Relationships
  • Horoscopes
Culture
  • Books
  • Television
  • Movies
  • Music
  • Celebrity
Power
  • Politics
  • Work
  • Money
  • Rebecca Traister
More
  • Latest Stories
  • Video
  • About Us
  • nymag.com
  • New York Magazine
  • Intelligencer
  • Vulture
  • The Cut
  • The Strategist
  • Grub Street
  • Curbed
March 7, 2016

Meet the New ‘No Hairstyle’ Hairstyle

By Kathleen Hou

Share

  • Share
  • Tweet
Photo: Getty Images

If the beauty trend the past two seasons was no-makeup makeup, fall 2016’s big trend can be described as “no-hairstyle hair.” Another way to describe it might be “real-girl hair” — like rich-girl hair, only with static and other imperfections. “Are you taking out the frizz?” I asked hairstylist Paul Hanlon, backstage at Rag & Bone. “No, no, we’re keeping that in,” he explained.

At Vetements, the hair looked plain and a bit grungy, described as “matted down and slightly staticky.” Colorist Andreas Kurkowitz even gave what he described as “flat, matte hair color” to five of the models a few days before the show, dyeing their hair to look dingy, like it had been left to lapse between salon appointments.

Londone and her natural hair at Galliano. Photo: Antonio de Moraes Barros Filho/Getty Images

At Céline, one of the first shows to champion individual beauty in fall 2015, Guido Palau told the Cut in an exclusive interview that the main theme was simplicity: “Phoebe talked about how she likes the girls when they walk in for meetings. It’s always ease. It’s never a forced kind of feeling,” he said.

The mix of side parts, ponytails, easy buns, straight hair, and natural hair at Céline reflected the variety of hairstyles a normal girl might attempt in the course of a day, without the assistance of a hairstylist or a salon (though perhaps with the aid of Redken Beach Envy Wave Aid, which Palau used backstage). This is the ironic truth of modern-day hair: No matter how many hairstyle tutorials you watch on YouTube, your default options are probably still just “down” or “up.” If the Pareto principle were applied to hair, it’d be that you attempt the basic hairstyles you know 80 percent of the time, and attempt something beyond your hair comfort zone 20 percent of the time.

Off the runway, this hair trend might not mean much. Like no-makeup makeup, it’s not really new: Most people, even celebrities like Kim Kardashian, want their hair to look like nothing has been done to it. (Aren’t we lucky, by the way, that the time-consuming finger waves that we saw in New York haven’t caught on this season?)

The fallacy of no-hairstyle hair, much like no-makeup makeup, is that models aren’t skipping the hair chair (although they might spend less time in it). All of the explanations for how to “get the look” backstage still mention at least three steps and multiple products. There hasn’t been a hair equivalent of Marc Jacobs’s no-makeup show (yet), and hairstylists still tend to fuss even over models with very little hair like Ruth Bell, adding things like shine serum. But here’s to more useful hair tips this season, and at the very least, the celebration of more natural styles and natural hair on the runway.

View
1 / 21 Photos
Rochas Fall 2016  Photo: @AntonelloTrio
Rochas Fall 2016  Photo: @AntonelloTrio
Vetements Fall 2016  Photo: Kristy Sparow/2016 Kristy Sparow
Photo: Kristy Sparow/2016 Kristy Sparow
Vetements Fall 2016  Photo: Kristy Sparow/2016 Kristy Sparow
Céline Fall 2016  Photo: Peter White/2016 Peter White
Céline Fall 2016  Photo: Peter White/2016 Peter White
Céline Fall 2016  Photo: Peter White/Getty Images
Céline Fall 2016  Photo: Catwalking/Getty Images
Elie Saab Fall 2016  Photo: Ivan Lattuada/Imaxtree
Vivienne Westwood Fall 2016  Photo: Zeno
Vivienne Westwood Fall 2016  Photo: Zeno
Vivienne Westwood Fall 2016  Photo: Zeno
Vivienne Westwood Fall 2016  Photo: Zeno
Balenciaga Fall 2016  Photo: Catwalking/2016 Catwalking
Balenciaga Fall 2016  Photo: Catwalking/2016 Catwalking
Givenchy Fall 2016  Photo: @AntonelloTrio
rag & bone Fall 2016 
Alexander Wang Fall 2016 
Jason Wu Fall 2016  Photo: Ivan Lattuada/@IvanLattuada
Jason Wu Fall 2016  Photo: Ivan Lattuada/@IvanLattuada
1 / 21

Tags:

  • beauty
  • runway beauty trends
  • hairy situations
  • paris fashion week fall 2015
  • pfw fall 2016
  • paris fashion week
  • guido palau
  • hair
  • paul hanlon
  • vetements
  • celine
  • no hairstyle hair
  • slideshows
  • More

More Galleries

oscars 2023 Mar. 12, 2023
Oscars Red Carpet 2023: Every Look  Rihanna! Florence Pugh! Michelle Yeoh! They’re all here. 
celebrity Feb. 19, 2023
All the Best Looks From the 2023 BAFTAs Red Carpet  Florence Pugh, Barry Keoghan, and Angela Bassett brought color to the red carpet. 
grammys 2023 Feb. 5, 2023
Every Look From the 2023 Grammys Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Lizzo, Bad Bunny, Adele, Doja Cat, Jack Harlow, Mary J. Blige, Sam Smith, and more.
By Brooke LaMantia
Jan. 10, 2023
All the Looks From the 2023 Golden Globes  Sheryl Lee Ralph, Jenna Ortega, Jessica Chastain, Julia Garner, Jeremy Allen White, Angela Bassett, and more. 
parties! Sept. 23, 2022
Katie Holmes, Chloë Sevigny, and More of the Bestest Party Pics This Week  Chanel, Mejuri, and more celebrate. 
parties! Sept. 16, 2022
Doja Cat, Lil Nas X, and More of the Bestest Party Pics This Week  Fendi, Frame, and Coach all celebrated NYFW. 
emmys 2022 Sept. 12, 2022
Emmys 2022: All the Red Carpet Looks  Updating: What Hollywood is wearing to the 2022 Primetime Emmy Awards. 
By Olivia Luppino
nyfw spring 2023 Sept. 9, 2022
Gigi Hadid, Chlöe Bailey, and More of the Bestest Party Pics of the Week  Saks Fifth Avenue, Longchamp, and more celebrate the beginning of NYFW. 
rip Sept. 9, 2022
The Queen Sure Did Love to Color-Coordinate  Monochrome for decades. 
red carpet Sept. 6, 2022
The Venice Film Festival Is a Major Fashion Event  Valentino and Gucci and Armani, oh my. 
red carpet June 5, 2022
All the Best Looks at the 2022 MTV Movie and TV Awards  Sydney Sweeney, Vanessa Hudgens, Jay Ellis, and more! 
parties! May 20, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  Harry Styles > everyone! 
parties! May 13, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  Bury me in Dove Cameron’s Saint Sintra skirt. 
parties! May 6, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  Cue the Met Gala after-party FOMO. 
met gala 2022 May 2, 2022
Met Gala 2022: All the Looks [Photos]  Billie Eilish, Kim Kardashian, Michelle Yeoh, Hailey Bieber, Megan Thee Stallion, Cardi B, Blake Lively, and more. 
parties! Apr. 29, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  This one goes to Olivia Rodrigo and her sweater vest. 
parties! Apr. 22, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  “Fuck those Zoom tops.” 
celebrity style Apr. 18, 2022
The Best Looks From Coachella 2022  From Harry Styles’s sparkling Gucci set to Megan Thee Stallion’s metallic bodysuit. 
style Apr. 13, 2022
A Look Inside the New Museum’s Spring Gala  Featuring all the best looks. 
grammys 2022 Apr. 3, 2022
Grammy Awards 2022 Red Carpet: All the Looks  Lady Gaga, Olivia Rodrigo, Lenny Kravitz, Lil Nas X, Billie Eilish, and more. 
  • Style
  • Self
  • Culture
  • Power
  • About The Cut
  • About New York Magazine
  • Newsletters
  • Help
  • Contact
  • Press
  • Media Kit
  • We’re Hiring
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Ad Choices
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Accessibility
The Cut is a Vox Media Network. © 2023 Vox Media, LLC. All rights reserved.