The Big Shift: Lived-In Hair Is The New Power Move
This season’s trending haircut styles centre on relaxed, lived-in texture and 70s inspired haircuts, with looks like the Kitty Cut hairstyle, the androgynous Curtain Crop haircut and grungy Indie Muse lengths redefining what cool, modern hair means as polished, overly perfect finishes start to fall out of favour. Every summer, Jane Birkin starts trending, but her tousled fringe is now joined by a whole roster of retro-influenced shapes that feel effortless instead of over-styled. The mood is rebellion: sleek up-dos and pristine Hollywood waves are being sidelined for rough-and-ready finishes that celebrate natural movement. Celebrity haircut trends are accelerating this shift, showing that confidence today looks less like immaculate ringlets and more like hair with personality, air and a hint of chaos.
Summer’s Undone Hero: The Kitty Cut
If one look sums up the quiet revolt against perfection, it’s the Kitty Cut hairstyle. It first made the rounds in 2024 as a chicer, softer update to the 70s and 80s-inspired shaggy wolf cut, built around curtain bangs, face-framing rounded layers and maximum feline-like movement. Today, those rules have loosened: the latest Kitty Cut isn’t limited to collarbone length, with long, piecey, full-bodied versions appearing on red carpets and feeds. The cut is “all about a long layered shattered haircut,” with a complete absence of hard lines for a ruffled, textured silhouette. Rough razor work, asymmetrical layers and ends that avoid bluntness give that air-ier, “invisible haircut” feel. The downside? High-heat styling tools often lock you into a fixed temperature of 185ºC, limiting fine-tuning for fragile hair. Still, if you want hair that looks like it has its own personality, Kitty is the cat to back.
Autumn Reinvention: The Androgynous Curtain Crop
While summer belongs to long, shattered layers, the cool-girl cut quietly taking over coffee shops and dive bars is the Curtain Crop haircut. It sits between a soft pixie and a shaggy bob, more grown-out and androgynous, with a floppy middle part that invites you to run your fingers through it. Think the kind of cut that looks unbothered by design. Sam Rubinstein, founder of London-based Rooibos salon, calls the Curtain Crop one of their “most requested haircuts” right now. According to Rubinstein, “it’s the most low-maintenance, androgynous, easy-to-style haircut out there at the moment,” offering immediate nonchalant coolness and a subtle signal of queer-coded style. Its strength is that it works with your hair’s natural texture rather than against it, demanding minimal fuss. The limitation is psychological: if you’re attached to conventional long lengths, committing to this cut means accepting that your hair is now part of your attitude.
70s Spirit, Modern Edge: From Birkin to Indie Muse
Underpinning these trends is a deep 70s revival. Salons are recreating a wide range of styles from the decade of disco, from Diana Ross’s tumbling Mahogany waves to Cher’s poker-straight, waist-length mane. Six of the most popular current cuts trace their roots to this high-octane era, and the Kitty Cut’s origin as a reworked shag shows how 70s inspired haircuts now feel softer and more wearable. On the longer end of the spectrum sits Indie Muse hair, fronted by Gabbriette, Jenna Ortega and Charli XCX. Here, bombshell blow-dries are challenged by a more undone, grungy approach with lived-in texture, natural movement and piece-y ends. For those embracing their natural texture, the aim is controlled chaos: shaking hair through while drying, then using texturising products and a final flip forward to create tousled movement. The only real con is for precision lovers—if you crave immaculate, symmetrical hair, this aesthetic may feel too mess-first to enjoy.
Who These Trends Are For—and What They Say About You
Taken together, Kitty Cuts, Curtain Crops, 70s inspired haircuts and Indie Muse texture signal that hair is being used to project ease, not effort. These looks favour low-maintenance styling and an androgynous or grungy edge, which suits anyone who wants hair to communicate confidence without looking over-produced. The Curtain Crop is ideal if you want “nonchalant coolness” with an androgynous twist and a subtle nod that you may be part of the LGBTQ community. Kitty Cuts and Indie Muse are perfect for those embracing their natural texture, aiming for controlled chaos over control-freak styling. There are trade-offs—high-heat tools with fixed 185ºC settings limit customisation, and precision lovers may feel adrift in all this messiness. But that’s the point: this season’s coolest haircut trends are less about pleasing everyone and more about wearing hair that looks like you woke up confident, not carefully curated.
