‘People are returning to their natural hair colours and styles this season’

Adhuna Bbabani

When I’m asked about seasonal trends, perhaps it’s wishful thinking on my part, but I’ve been saying it for years that people need to embrace what is naturally their own.

I believe a return to the natural, in terms of texture and hair styles, sort of mirrors what is happening in fashion right now as well. People no longer wear a uniform, which is the same type of clothes defined by a trend. Of course, there are followers and there are, sort of, leaders, but within that, there is a significant enough proportion who seem to have broken out of the pattern of seasonal trends, to make an impact on fashion with different choices.

Younger people in the West, for instance, look to singer Billie Eilish, who dyed her hair a bright, almost phosphorescent green, as somebody who is a trend-setter.

Rihanna, the singer and beauty mogul, is known for creating trends with her fiercely individual style. She often catches a trend far ahead of the changes in fashion’s seasonal cycles, and makes it her own. Short hair, bright colors, braids, accessories, wraps, and even her current cut is very now, inspired by the infamous Mullet as a nineties staple, Rihanna really understands the assignment. She’s playful, bold and experimental with her many iconic looks.

The 90’s are definitely a strong influence shaping and leading fashion everywhere right now. Accessories, snap clips, bobby pins, and barrettes in pop-art colors are great too and fun additions for styling. These are some of the trending looks in fashion, hair, and make-up on the international runways and editorials.

In India, long hair is part of our culture, so I feel like cutting the long hair off, symbolises a kind of freedom in a way. Yet I still believe, if long hair is beautiful and in great condition, then that has its own charm. People have progressed onto, at least, experimenting with hair color, experimenting with a slightly shorter overall length of hair. Thirty years ago, I would go to a party and I was always the only one with a short haircut. I’ve grown my hair out to a mid-length, and when I go out now, I see a lot of people with a similar length of hair.

I feel hair styles are not so much definitive anymore. Its statement-making colors, rather than definitive styles,  that are trending. Actress Jennifer Winget was ready for a dramatic makeover, so we collaborated with Jennifer and launched our Cherry Red hair color, and the result is fabulous. As you can see, Jennifer is a gorgeous “red head”. Red is a popular color this winter, or even a violet blue for our more adventurous clients. Hair color is a great way to experience the same kind of significant, personal transformation as you would with a new cut or style.

With the winter upon us, festival season, and our great, big, Indian weddings. For a bridal look, I would work with natural texture and more realistic hair, taking weather, comfort and context as considerations, over a contrived or high-maintenance style. Women want to feel special as the bride, as they should, and for me what factors to decide on a look is a blend of personal taste, suitability, character and preferences of the bride, and most importantly how she sees herself. A great cut, color or style can bring a beautiful balance between the aesthetic of the bride’s bone structure, face shape, body proportions, costume and colors she will be wearing; it’s the same ideating we would go through during a consultancy for a haircut. Bridal hair, and haircuts and styles overall, can be freer, more comfortable, modern and subtly chic, while being inspired by the beauty of culture and tradition as well.

It’s no longer so much about trends. People are working more with their emotions in the choices they make for their look. Everybody is really trying to do the best they can to work towards a balance, in what you wear, in your hair, on your body, in your clothes, working more with your emotions and how you feel about the choices you make. Even in the beauty regimen, the move towards natural ingredients, and recognizing the benefits of those ingredients.

I do believe that even if there is a trend that has been created around getting closer to nature and being more in harmony with nature, its only good that people are thinking in that direction. Then their actions are also moving in that direction all around, whether they’re doing it because it’s a fashion trend or whether they actually believe in it, it’s a good change regardless.

Is it a ‘trend’ or is it a ‘demand’, that might be the question to ask. That we are delving into other considerations, deeper conversations, in the fashion and beauty space, goes with the larger, worldwide trend of people being forced to think more deeply about their choices. The ways we express ourselves, and our personality, through fashion is a thought process, because the consequences and repercussions of our choices are what we are experiencing in our world, in our times.

Adhuna Bhabani is Founder & Creative Director of BBLUNT