There’s hardly a better signifier of a sunny day well spent than a finger-combed mess of windswept waves, but leave it to the street style set to spark a party-ready hair trend that adds a bit of polished yin to all that beachy summer yang: slicked-back hair that conjures up lazy poolside chic and ’80s-inspired power glamour in equal measure—while requiring little more than a fine-toothed comb and a dollop of gel to perfect.
It all began with Kendall Jenner and Joan Smalls, whose minimalist hair at Canneslast month looked like they had taken a quick dip in the Riviera before diving into their gowns, while Toni Garrn recently took the style into hard-edged Helmut Newton territory with a liquid off-the-shoulder dress in Monaco.
But for all its ocean-fresh appeal, the clean sweep feels just as right for an evening in the city: Josephine Skriver and Stella Maxwell wore the style on the red carpet in Manhattan this week, proving the look pairs just as nicely with clean skin and a floor-length dress as a smudge of eyeliner and an androgynous tux.
Just in time for a steamy Saturday night, here’s to summer’s coolest shortcuts to high-impact hair.
JUNE 11, 2016 8:00 AM by SOPHIE SCHULTE-HILLEN