The rise of the rebel cut: androgynous hair has reached the red carpet

The Met Gala’s theme hasn’t been punk since 2013, but that didn’t stop 2023’s nostalgic hair styles from infiltrating the red carpet this Monday evening as the biggest names in fame and fashion desended upon the iconic Met steps.

Buzzcuts, mullets and shag cuts were abound, with red carpet darling Florence Pugh debuting her newly shaved head - rumoured to be a result of her role opposite Andrew Garfield in a new romcom, We Live in Time, as well as guests like Amber Valletta, Cara Delevingne and Marion Cotillard all sporting messed up short crops.

Kristen Stewart, too, displayed a notably adrogynous mullet, paired with her Gamine cropped jacket and oversized trousers. A world away from Bella Swan’s Twilight look for sure.

Still, the mullet has been bubbling away since 2020, due to its lockdown-DIY-friendly nature. The shag - think a softcore version of the mullet, which usually requires a little more professional care and styling - was the natural progression for 2022. So why are these well established hair trends only now getting the red carpet treatment?

Bleach London hairstylist Kira Hellsten is thrilled that the Met looks had something more exciting to offer “other than long bouncy curls” as is typical for such an event. “I think it pairs really well with the lack of colour this year,” she says, “there were a lot of black and white outfits, so that makes things more interesting.

“[It seems] with time people have realised it’s more fun than they thought to branch out, like with the men, who typically turn up dressed like waiters, now they’re getting more inventive.”

It doesn’t hurt that these hairstyles have become increasingly common on TV and movie sets, forcing actors to adopt a punkier look than they might normally opt for: take Florence Pugh’s new buzzcut, or Timothée Chalamet’s pink tinged mullet in last year’s horror-romance Bones and All to actress Annabelle Dexter-Jones’ trendy new tousled crop in Succession’s last season, playing media heiress Naomi Pierce.

Perhaps most prominently, Stranger Things’ single handed revitalisation of the 80s mullet, though Hellsten says this has prompted more of a mullet evolution, rather than a ressurrection: “A shaggy haircut is always going to be in, especially for low maintenance looks, and they can actually suit a lot of people,” she explains. “A mullet is more ‘out there’, but they’re way more versatile now - typically when we think of mullets we think of the 80s, really short at the front, long at the back, which is not what it is now. There’s way more variety.”

Hellsten hopes the renewed versatility can allow for for more red carpet looks like those seen at the Met, but knows it may just be an avant garde treat. “I’m hoping we’ll get more fun colours, but still in the realm of reality - like peachy tones, softer, warm tones. Yellow, too... [I] love a yellow. I’m hoping people will continue to branch out.”