It’s not glitz when the award for the most boring hair goes to The Oscars
OK, let’s start with a disclaimer. I’m not Barry Norman but in my opinion Oppenheimer and indeed the wonderful Cillian Murphy undoubtedly deserved the Oscar landslide this year — an incredible film, wonderful cast and gripping performances.
One of the things that I loved most about Oppenheimer and many films of the last few years was the innovation and creativity of the hairdressers, stylists and makeup artists. And when it comes to film there is always the opportunity to flex some creative muscle.
Over the years, these looks have had a positive effect on hairstyling trends and directions — many movies have sparked complete fashion fads with actors or actresses in certain roles having huge influence on how fans and movie goers wear their hair.
I remember the salon being rammed with Gwyneth Paltrow look-a-likes when she sported her Twiggy crop in the late 90s romcom Sliding Doors. Grease sparked a 1950s revival in the 1970s with quiffs, DAs and high rise ponytails à la Travolta and Newton-John. When Russell Crowe appeared on the silver screen with his Roman Gladiator crop, a million wannabe Maximus males begged their stylists to recreate the Caesar crop.
Hair is aspirational and the actors, actresses and the characters they play often influence the styles we want for ourselves — not that we necessarily want to be Roman gladiators but the idea of a certain haircut based on a strong, brave, masculine historical figure will have massive appeal. Likewise Uma Thurman’s Pulp Fiction black box bob or even her Kill Bill psycho-grunge look do represent strong women with individual personalities and definite styles.
Of course we have to separate the actors from their characters... or do we? In the early days of Hollywood, maybe right up until the 1970s, our famous film stars pretty much looked the same in real life as they did on screen, even when playing period characters. Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Marlon Brando, Katherine Hepburn, Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, were as instantly recognisable on the Oscars red carpet as they were on the silver screen because they had signature looks. Maybe the studios dictated this but the appeal was enormous, impacting greatly on hairdressing, makeup and fashion.
As the studio’s grip loosened in the 60s and 70s, the appeal of the actors grew — the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde starring Warren Beaty and Faye Dunaway had a major influence on fashion when it was released. Late 1960s fashionistas copied Dunaway’s 1930s inspired bob and beret combo. Though not exactly faithful to the period, its exquisite styling and femininity underpinned by a strong female character was pivotal in its appeal.
And Beatty himself, in Shampoo as a hairdresser, literally became the bench mark stereotype look for young men with a creative (if misogynistic) bent for many years. As my old boss often said when I mentioned the film: “if Jim Morrison was a hairdresser”.
Maybe I’m nostalgic for when our movie stars looked like stars on the silver screen and on the red carpet — it’s not that I want Cillian Murphy to rock up at the Oscars in full kit Thomas Shelby, or Margot Robbie in Barbie mode but fair play to Austin Butler for keeping the Elvis thing going almost three years after the hit films release. OK Austin, Elvis can leave the building now! So Sunday night’s Oscars — who had the best hair? The most wanted look? The to-die-for style? Er, well to be perfectly honest, no one — at least not in a hugely influential way. Sure, the movie stars who featured are beautiful or seriously cool but inspiring they are not. It seems that conservative, low key, understated, undone, and under-done is the way forward. I believe that this is typical of the world we live in — actors are serious people and their art is not a frivolous thing so it’s the craft they are here to celebrate, apparently. So we had a super sleek 90s blowout on Anya Taylor Joy and a sleek but fuller blow out on Emma Stone — both opted for the ubiquitous centre parting and ear tuck — streamlined, clean and simple. Margot Robbie (main picture) too had the centre parting but added a little boho texture and Billie Eilish — often our go-to for edge — had the full force gale blow out...and centre parting. Just so you know, centre partings are hard to wear and can be very unflattering.
We had more buns than a bakery in January on show — Emily Blunt with the classic undone ballet bun, a look if you are wearing a designer frock, a slightly different vibe if you are in your yoga gear and you don’t do yoga!
Last year we celebrated the return of the bob and it seems bob enjoyed all the attention — Carey Mulligan, Marlee Matlin, America Ferrara and Leslie Bibb with almost identical haircuts, beautiful as they are but hardly groundbreaking. The overall sense being that less is, well, less.
SO what is happening? I genuinely believe that hairdressers, makeup artists and advisors are encouraging their clients to play it cool. Maybe there is a sense that if an A-lister steps outside the boundaries it may look a little desperate — a scream for attention, a ‘look at me’ thing — but don’t we want our stars to be larger than life, a bit extra? A little outrageous or over the top? Where is the fun, creativity, individuality and most importantly the star appeal? Hollywood almost looks like it’s swallowed itself— long gone are the mavericks, hellraisers and divas. Maybe the antics of past presenters, and those receiving and giving awards as well as humanitarian crisis and economic issues mean that the Oscars is no longer a glamorous event but simply a celebration of the craft of filmmaking. Indeed the awards this year saw actors and filmmakers using the opportunity to express political and social opinions in speeches. It’s true we need the platform of film to tell us the stories of the persecuted, to disrupt and ask questions. But they should also continue to entertain and enthral us, as an escape route from our normal lives, lives that most of the people at the Oscars have long since left behind. Today’s movie stars are not obliged to act in any way that isn’t natural or in keeping with their own self image. How they wear their hair or look is their own business as Hollywood stars no longer need to play the role of cultural changemakers... but more’s the pity. As a hairdresser I used to look forward to being asked the day after the Oscars what I thought of the hair, the best and the worst. Now it’s all just a bit meh!