The Athleisure-ification of Hair Accessories Is Still Going Strong
Trends come and go, but one accessory has managed to remain in the zeitgeist for over a year: the fabric headband.
The simple, stretchy headband — first popularized in the '60s courtesy of Brigitte Bardot — reentered the fashion chat last year, when they began cropping up on virtually every fashion influencer under the sun. Nicola Peltz Beckham, Kaia Gerber, Laura Harrier, and Sydney Sweeney are among those who have embraced the trend.
Bella Hadid — the internet's perennial style inspiration — has remained particularly faithful to the headband, first sporting the accessory in 2022. Since then, it has remained a staple in her wardrobe — earlier this month, the model styled a suede Mango trench coat with a black headband while out and about in Los Angeles.
The hair accessory has made its way onto the runway, too. At Schiaparelli's Fall 2023 Couture show, models wore extra-wide headbands adorned with the house's signature keyhole insignia. And at Dior's FW24 menswear show, stretchy headbands helped keep models' slicked-back hair in place (they will not be produced for sale, Dior told Highsnobiety).
KITH's women's Spring 2024 lookbook also featured fabric headbands front-and-center, pairing them with the label's athletics-inspired staples.
Writer Kristen Bateman has a theory for why the fabric headband is so appealing right now: it has become a symbol for stealth wealth and "quiet luxury."
In the '80s, Bateman writes, the elastic headband became associated with elite gym culture. It signaled, and continues to signal, the kind of person who had the time and money to devote a significant part of their daily routine to health and fitness.
Luckily, you don't need Succession-levels of wealth to get the look. Scunci's "Headwraps," sold in packs of five at the likes of Target and CVS for about $6, are a TikTok favorite.
