ELLE Editors Share Their Favourite New Hair Trends And How To Style Them (2024)

From a dramatic colour switch-up to the accessory du jour, here’s what the ELLE editors are doing to guarantee a great hair day, every day...

Emma Dabiri: Fresh Braids

Cornrows are an ancient style (there are cave paintings of people rocking them), but their perennial popularity and incredible ability to always look fresh, new and even futuristic is a testament to their classic status.

I’ve worn cornrows when they’ve been stigmatised by mainstream culture, perceived as an expression of Blackness associated with criminality or taken as evidence of some sort of deviance. Things then shifted and their status was elevated – but only when worn by Caucasians. ‘Cornrows are moving away from urban, hip-hop to more chic and edgy. There were spiral cornrows at Alexander McQueen and I did fishtail cornrows woven with fabric,’ a celebrity hairstylist told the Los Angeles Times back in 2014, in an article referencing a customer looking for that ‘Elizabethan or Game of Thrones edginess’.

Fast-forward to today, and cornrows abounded throughout theAW24 shows, as seen on model Ali Dansky at Courrèges and in more ornate styles, such as the gold-flecked braids at Mithridate.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not naive enough to presume that all or any associated stigma or related discrimination has entirely disappeared. But it does appear that we are experiencing a moment where cornrows worn by people with Afro hair are finally being recognised as beautiful, classy and elegant in their own right. I wore cornrows to a number of shows this season and they perfectly complemented the feminine dresses I wore, dispelling the myth that cornrows are only a casual or indeed an exclusively masculine style. As I tend to be low maintenance when it comes to my hair, I don’t usually bother with my edges, but this year I did, and opted for gelled baby hairs, reflecting another trend that has been popular this season: slicked, polished edges.

Medina Azaldin: the bob

Over the years, countless hairdressers have tried to convert me to the power of the regular hair trim. We all know the benefits: healthier hair, fewer split ends. However! Who has the time to schedule in haircuts with such military-like discipline? Great hairdressers are constantly booked up and weekend appointments are rarer than an aurora borealis sighting. I get my hair cut every six months, at best, much to the chagrin of pros everywhere. Booking in less regularly allows for extra time to properly consider my Annual Chop. This time, I wanted curtain bangs to frame my cheeks, and shoulder-grazing layers that promise fluffy, fuller-looking hair reminiscent of a 1990s Claudia Schiffer and model Aivita Muze at Chloé AW24 - a departure from my usual waist-grazing lengths.

A big change is daunting. It helps to have a hairdresser who can provide hand-holding through the process, and it’s best to go gradually shorter to avoid losing too much. I see either Joe Little at Gielly Green or Brixton Cowie at Neil Moodie Studio, who understand that good haircuts should look great in the salon but get even better later. The right hairdo will grow out and maintain its shape between appointments.

My longer fringe means creating a Bardot-esque updo now takes me all of three minutes with a claw clip, and the shorter layers have plenty of bounce, even on air-dry days.

The bob really is one of the most versatile haircuts. The fashion-forward among us may prefer sleek, blunt ends, while ‘old-money bobs’ à la Zendaya at the SAG Awards are brimming with glamour (and perfect for curly hair). For special occasions, it takes 10 minutes with a Dyson Airwrap to create wavy texture. Easy, breezy, beautiful... at least for the next six months.

Katy Young: Hair Accessories

As someone who has based their entire career around beauty – think permanently painted nails and forever long, getting longer, hair – you might have me down as the girly type. But look closer – my manicures are never pink and curling tongs don’t come anywhere near those lengths. You won’t find much cutesy here.

In fact, until very recently (around the time I cut in an awkward new fringe), you wouldn’t have found any bows or barrettes nestled in my hair either. But then Coach AW24 happened, Chloë Sevigny wore pearls in her plaits to the Met and it was game on. Accessorising has become cool – and, at last, shed the age restrictions.

‘The trick to avoid it looking too girly is to choose the right material, colour and shape,’ says hairstylist Adam Reed. ‘Look at Celine. If they use hair accessories, they keep it considered, going for silk bows in stark colours like gunmetal grey. At Loewe, too, JW Anderson removes the femininity by keeping pieces heavy and statement [sized].’ Reed also suggests being adventurous with scarves and necklaces for a little more edge: ‘Try some-thing that isn’t a hair accessory at all,’ he says.

Living, as I do, pretty close to the edge, but not quite over it, my new-found obsession is backstage hair-setting clips. While definitely made for hair (to keep a styled look flat, before being swiftly taken out as the models hit the runway), they are not necessarily intended to be seen by the public eye. If getting hair décor right this season is about something unexpected, then these easy-to-use clamps tick the box nicely. It also helps that they come in every colour way and are so cheap – try Claire’s, eBay and Etsy.

If you look a little closer now, you still won’t see much in the way of saccharine style, but you might notice the tortoiseshell pins and silk bows that go with my polished nails. It’s cute, kinda.

Katie Withington: Natural Colour

Last year, after a decade of oxblood reds, baby pinks and not-so-expensive brunettes, I finally broke up with box-dyeing my hair. My faded faux-copper strands were competing with mousy regrowth and I’d tired of refreshing my dwindling tone every other week. Inundated with celebrity colour-analysis TikToks making a case for ‘your natural shade is your best shade’, and fatigued by the monthly upkeep, I finally decided to go back to my roots

I’ll admit, facing a professional colourist for the first time since my teens was no small feat. When Evelina Lundgren at Andrew Jose asked me what brand, tone and formula I’d been using, I winced and replied, ‘Everything.’ Like any good hairdresser, she managed my expectations. There are hurdles that come with duplicating your natural shade after a lifetime of at-home dyeing. Firstly, ‘banding’ (where pigment builds up in uneven lines); secondly, the stubborn staining from any warmer hues. I left those in Lundgren’s capable hands. After multiple, carefully spaced out sessions of toning and correcting, I was closer to my childhood hue than ever before.

It has been months since my last colour appointment and I still catch ‘Did you get your hair done recently?’ comments. The key? Finding a flattering colour that works with your roots and complexion (to enable long-term regrowth), and subtle but regular hair maintenance for condition and tone.

In salon, I now opt for babylights (micro-thin highlights) every few months for a sun-kissed look that enhances my natural colour. At home, my essential tool kit consists of a brass-correcting purple shampoo (brunettes and redheads – look to temporary glosses like Glaze instead), a colour-care conditioner and a powder touch-up kit for a temporarily brightened look. Yes, I occasionally reminisce about my letterbox locks, but I’ll be rocking these glossy, au naturel lengths for years to come. Bye-bye box dye – for good this time.

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