Bobs, layers and curls are trending for the girls.
If there’s anything 10 years working in fashion and beauty editorial has taught me, it’s how much your hair will influence your entire look. I’ve seen the right hair styling make a boring outfit look directional, or elevate a crumpled office outfit for almost any after-work dress code (naturally, I’ve learnt this one firsthand).
Changing up your hair is also a great way to engage in trends, without too much impact on the environment (especially true if you favour an environmentally-friendly salon). It’s a concept that’s proven to me every day I step into the office. Our team can’t and doesn’t always have new clothes, but we always look fresh – in big part due to our hair.
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I’ve long been a fan of our Assistant Editor Izzy’s shag-style cut, while our Editor Cait’s deference to her natural curls and playful copper tones make everything she wears pop. Personally, I‘m partial to lots and lots of layers and a big, boofy blow wave that hints at my Italian heritage and feels right at home with the Mob Wife trend.
As it turns out (and is probably no surprise, given the industry we work in), each of our hair preferences is among the most trending hair requests of this year. Below, Donna Sheridan of her eponymous salon and Becc Snow at Alchemy Salon share the hairstyles and cuts we can expect to see dominating, this season and beyond.
Layers upon layers
Both Donna and Becc note they’ve had a surge in requests for dramatic layering. “Everybody wants layers, more and more layers,” says Becc. “Big beautiful hair is definitely in, and I am here for it. Although I feel that it is going in less of a soft direction, and moving more toward stronger shapes… and playing with disconnections within the design.” She points to harsher shag- and wolf-style cuts that have grown in popularity over the past couple of years, alongside the viral hime haircut.
Donna presses the universal popularity of shag cuts for a variety of hair types. “I love the casual cool vibe of a subtle shag, especially throughout the front of the hair. A go-to for me is face-framing layers, with the centre part of the fringe hitting around the bridge of the nose. It’s effortlessly flattering worn both long or short, and versatile being put up or down.”
That ‘Makeover Moment’
We all know the late ’90s / early 2000s romcoms loved a makeover montage. From Miss Congeniality to The Princess Diaries, it seems the success of most cinematic greats of that era (for our cohort at least) spun on a Big Reveal. Perhaps this resurgence of Y2K nostalgia can explain why more and more of us are turning to the hairdresser’s chair for our own makeover moment.
“High impact transformations are something we are seeing a lot more of, [from] people who want a complete change and almost to enter a new era or chapter of their look,” notes Becc. “It’s a really exciting and fulfilling journey to go on with a client, assisting them to discover the person they want to become or bring out their personality to the next level.”
It’s the same at Donna’s salon. “Dramatic transformations are captivating everyone’s attention at the moment. People are embracing significant changes and are open to experimenting, ” she says, adding that not everyone needs to have a specific brief in mind. “I’m tailoring [my service] to whatever feeling I’m getting from whoever’s sitting in my chair. People are feeling good and looking good, wondering why they didn’t make the move sooner.”
A return to natural curls
While I’m still personally experiencing separation anxiety every time I put down my beloved 2007 model GHD, more and more Australians are embracing their natural hair. “We absolutely love seeing people owning what they have,” says Donna, noting an increased number of clients are choosing to work with, not against, their natural hair textures. “Curls are HUGE at the moment,” adds Becc. “The majority of my days are 50 per cent filled with curly haircuts.
“People are sick of the over-done, heavy-duty, heat-styled hair and are embracing the natural movement they were born with. So many people are booking in diffuse dries over blow dries, and wanting to learn how to recreate the look at home,” she says.
French bobs
“French bobs are happening left right and centre – the short hair girlies are living,” says Becc, adding she’s seen an increase in shorter, sharper cuts “but with free-form natural textures”. She’s also noticed an increase in wash and wear-style haircuts that are “easy to style but hold a strong baseline, keeping them super chic and put together with little to no styling needed”.
Bright and bold colour
Both Donna and Bec point to vibrant colour as a huge hair trend for the year.
“We are going to see people playing with colour much more,” says Becc. “I am already seeing the beginnings of this with people getting bored of their natural colour, the natural hair era is coming to a close. Self-expression, individuality and celebrating your uniqueness is becoming more and more accepted, and the norm. Being different is your superpower and people are going to continue to push boundaries to present even further into their authentic selves.”
“We love bold colours,” adds Donna, who is seeing more of a variety in colour palettes requested. She’s also fielding fewer foiling requests, with bold, rich colours dominating instead.
Copper tones aren’t budging either. “This isn’t anything new, copper has been a trend for a while now but the copper trend is very much still going strong,” says Becc. “It is such a versatile colour that’s bolder than your usual natural tone, but still feels like such a big change and sits closer to the wild side,” says Becc.
For more of this year’s trending hairstyles, head here.