We all know the scenario: you're sitting at home on another uneventful night, part-way through a Netflix binge in your shamelessly comfy PJ's when you decide to chuck your hair up in a bun, not giving it a second thought, only realising when you later catch yourself in the mirror that you've somehow curated the most glorious masterpiece of a bun the world has ever seen, and no-one is there to see it.
Sound familiar? Well, there's a reason we're bringing this up now, other than the fact that we've spent more hours trying to recreate that perfect bun than we'd like to admit: the classic updo is back.
Various chignons experienced a revival at the AW21 shows, taking the form of slicked-back buns at Emilia Wickstead, low braided knots at 3.1 Philip Lim and architectural domes at Fendi, while sky high beehives and polished twists have had a new lease of life thanks to the A-list. Cut to us endlessly scrolling through Lady Gaga's recent street style featuring her chic French twists.
Call it pandemic practising, call it having a celebrity hair stylist on hand, but updos have reclaimed the hair space this season, and we're determined to step ours up to the next level.
While we've not been able to decipher the laws of physics that govern the phenomenon of the perfect updo, we have been able to pick the brains of some of the best in the hair business to guide us on how to navigate the new season twists on timeless updos.
1.The Wet Look Chignon
If the mere mention of the word chignon gives you formidable flashbacks to your school prom and headache-inducing buns, you'll be pleased to hear that the chignon has had a refurb for AW21.
'A chignon does tend to be a bit more of a formal updo compared to a bun. It references the glamour of the 1950s when it was the epitome of chic for women to have sophisticated up-styles,' explains hair stylist George Northwood. 'However, the modern interpretation is something far more loose and natural that still creates a timeless appeal.'
Rather than requiring thousands of bobby pins and a small army to keep in place, the AW21 shows opted for wet-look chignons that relied on the use of styling and holding products to achieve a slicked-back and effortless look. Helpfully, it's also a highly realistic option for those of us who have got used to pushing our hair washing schedule to the max (here's looking at you, five day grease).
'Whether it’s very sleek or more undone, it can add an element of style to any look,' continues Northwood. 'We’ve all gotten far too used to low maintenance dressing during lockdown, but if you give yourself a slicked-back chignon, you might just get away with it while still looking on trend.'
Get The Look
- Firstly, keep the hair in your natural parting. If you're going for a looser look, take sections of the hair and spray with a good volumiser. If you're going for the full wet look, apply a smoothing and de-frizzing cream, such as my Undone by George Northwood Moisturising Cream, £15.
- Next, sweep all of the hair at the back of your head onto one side, and secure it in place with grips.
- Then, sweep all of the hair in the opposite direction, roll it into itself, and use pins to secure in place.
- For a looser, modern take on the chignon, pull out some flyaway sections at the front of the face, manipulating into the shape that you want. To recreate the wet-look chignon as seen at the AW21 shows, finish off by spritzing with your favourite hairspray or comb through with styling gel on a spoolie which will hold the style in place.
ELLE Edit: Hairspray
2. The Understated Beehive
For those not afraid to dabble in decadence from decades past, the re-emergence of the beloved 1960s beehive will come as a welcome surprise. It might not be the simplest updo to attain, but luckily we had hair stylist and ghd creative stylist Patrick Wilson, aka the brains behind Aimee Lou Wood's BAFTA hair, on hand to give us the low down on this heightened 'do.
'I think after lockdown so many have cut bangs and this hair-up works perfectly with the shorter shape around the face,' says Wilson. 'We are inspired by what’s around us, and with celebrities like Aimee Lou Wood and Dua Lipa going for the beehive, women are wanting something different; they don’t just want to wear their hair down.'
The bigger the better isn't something that pertains to the modern version of the beehive. According to Wilson, think pared-back with a focus on wearability and balance rather than hairspray and height.
'You don’t want all of the attention at the top of the head, and that’s why I think the look I created for Aimee’s BAFTA award worked. It had a nod to the 1960s but it wasn’t so literal. Avoid going too big, square or round with the shape.
'With hair up, as long as you put the preparation and foundation into the hair, it will last.'
Get The Look
- Once the hair is prepped, blow dry using a hair dryer and a round brush.
- Direct the bangs back to flick away from the face with the ghd Soft Curl Tong, £129.
- Once the prep is finished, add a root lift spray to the roots, backcombing the hair to add height to the style.
- Using a brush, brush the hair back and roll the hair into a french roll. Then, manipulated the shape with your fingers to make the look more lived-in before securing.'
Top tip: 'This look is all about the prep. If you fail to prep the style, it won’t last. My advice would be to use a mousse to hold the look in a place, and using two mirrors to check the balance and shape from behind helps too.'
ELLE Edit: Volume Boosting Hair Products
3. The Italian Twist
If you're longing to switch out your lockdown bun for something that carries a bit more sophistication, look no further than the French twist. Served (and we mean served) by Lady Gaga in recent weeks with some serious Italian splendour, this season it's all about living out our rich European fantasies through our hair. Naturally.
'The French twist hairstyle is a style that classically came from the French chignon, sometimes called a French twist or a French pleat,' explains hair stylist and ghd ambassador Zoë Irwin.
'It’s a style that is teased and then folded into the back, so one goes away from the face, one side is rolled in and the other side is rolled across the first to give a really elegant updo.'
Once a favoured choice for 20th century film stars and quite likely your grandma (the cornerstone of all chic trends, we've come to realise), the French Twist's timeless understated glamour translates into AW21 with a few minor tweaks, according to Irwin. No brushing up on your french linguistics required.
'The French twist is a classic look that gets modernised by texture; the texture changes according to the season. It can be more glass like and super slicked, it can be smaller, or it can be an extra teased.
'This season I would do a really smooth version like Gaga and saturate with the ghd Shiny Ever After Final Shine Spray, £15 to give it a little bit more of an architectural look to it.'
Fair warning, this look can take a bit of practice, so maybe get a few trial runs in before a big night out.
ELLE Edit: Hair Serum
Get The Look
- First of all shampoo and condition the hair, then using a root lift spray, work your way through the head (spraying around every 4cm) starting at the nape of the neck. Blow dry with a bristle brush so you get smoothness and really work the product through the hair.
- Take sections from the nape of the neck and tease the hair using a comb or a small bristle brush, pushing the hair gently back on itself. Work through horizontally, going through the head with lots of height on top.
- The key to this is applying fine misted hairspray as you style. Take either a side or straight parting at the back and then gently brush the hair, smoothing the sides. Take a box section from the top and twist that and put that away, mist the hair gently and start to work the hair backwards and simply fold it in on itself. You can either fold around your hands or you can just take the hair to the back and start twisting it up so its working in at the nape of the neck and put the twist at the top.
- Use some long hair pins to secure the shape, check in a mirror and pull it out to the angle you would like and then go in with finer pins – kirby grips work really well for height and you can criss cross these. Criss cross all the way to the top and simply repeat on the other side, folding that hair back over the first, twist it in and then pin into that so you don’t see the grips.
Updo's and updont's for AW21? You've nailed it.
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