The early 2000s were full of pop-punk inspired hair looks, including Avril Lavigne’s once-signature raccoon hair streaks. Although this iconic Y2K style has been aligned with beauty-rule bending and rebellion, recently at Paris Fashion Week, we witnessed it take on a new, sophisticated shape. Hairstylist Olivier Schawalder added an extra layer of cool to the Kiko Kostadinov’s Spring 2024 show with hair that resembled barcodes. The hairstyles were chic and memorable, possibly predicting a resurgence of an early 2000’s emo hair trend.
Debuting at the Palais De Tokyo on the final day of Paris Fashion Week, Kiko Kostadinov’s womenswear collection meshed feminine silhouettes with utilitarian tones. Many of the models flaunted different versions of a striped, barcode-like hairstyle, which offered a crucial sense of unity to the collection that explored a vast amount of color, texture and silhouettes.
Though Schawalder’s work on the Kiko Kostadinov models’ hair was definitely intense and maybe a bit dystopian, we are seeing similar styles all over, proving that this color technique could prove itself as the newest form of the split dye trend.
The good news is that recreating this look at home does not have to be a commitment. Painting stripes on your hair using semi-permanent dyes or color depositing conditioners is a great way to explore barcode hair for a limited period of time. In fact, Good Dye Young carries an extensive collection of semi-permanent color, perfect for experimentation.
As our society grows more accepting of hair expression every day, it’s exciting to see the ways in which styles that were once popular in an extremely “alternative” context are now returning in a much more mainstream sense.
If you happen to try out this barcode hair trend on yourself (or a client!), we want to see! Be sure to tag @readthetease on Instagram.
