Red Hair is Officially Everywhere, Here’s a Timeline of the Trend

Kendall Jenner, Barbie Ferreira and GiGi Hadid have all gone red
Instagram: @barbieferreira, Getty/Marc Piasecki, Instagram: @dualipa

Does it feel like redheads are suddenly everywhere? Yesterday, POPSUGAR brought you the breaking news the Euphoria star and iconic blonde, Sydney Sweeney, had traded her buttery-blond look for strawberry locks. Last month, Kendall Jenner made headlines when she dialled up the heat, going burnt copper for the Prada runway. While bronde has dominated the runways and red carpet in recent years, it’s been knocked from its place by red. But who started the trend? Here is a timeline.

Sydney Sweeney, March 2022

What better way to wave goodbye to Euphoria Season 2 than a peachy new look? Sydney Sweeney has gone strawberry-blond to play Penny Jo Poplin in “National Anthem.” We’re also loving her faux freckles.

Kendall Jenner, February 2022

Kendall Jenner red head
Credit: Getty/Marc Piasecki

When Kendall Jenner went burnt-copper for Prada’s Milan 2022 show she made headlines. Previously known as one of the quieter Kardashian-Jenners, Kendall demonstrated the transformative power of a new hair look. A Yahoo headline read “Sooo, Redhead Kendall Jenner Might Just Be the Happiest Version of Kendall Jenner.” While the scientific community is out on whether redheads actually have more fun, Jenner looks like she’s having the time of her life.

Barbie Ferreira, December 1st

Barbie Ferreira
Credit: IG @barbieferreira

As reported by Vogue, Barbie Ferreira actually debuted a dialled up red only days ago – perhaps inspired by her colleague Sydney’s transformation. The star originally went from brunette to red back in December 2021. Her vibrant copper locks give us rockstar bombshell energy and we love it.

False alarm: Florence Pugh, November 2021

If you want to get a sense of the disruptive power of red hair, just look at the headlines generated by Florence Pugh‘s November 24 Instagram post. From Allure to NYLON, reports were generated. But the moment was short-lived – in her next Instagram post, the star was back to dark bronde. A bit of POPSUGAR Instagram sleuthing has uncovered that Pugh actually was a redhead back in 2016.

Dua Lipa for Versace
Credit: IG @dualipa

One of the biggest hair moments of 2021 was Dua Lipa‘s fiery red hair and blunt bangs for Versace‘s FW 2021 campaign. With pin-straight locks, 70s accessories and flushed, lightly freckled complexion Dua Lipa proved why she’s one of fashion and beauty’s most influential figures: girl can pull off literally anything.

Gigi Hadid, February 2021

GiGi Hadid Red Hair
Credit: Getty/Jacob Raule

Where Gigi Hadid goes, the beauty and fashion community humbly follow. When Gigi debuted peppery locks ahead of her post-model-mat-leave return to the runway at Versace’s fall/winter 2021 show (we sense a theme with Versace and redheads), we knew the copper colour would be a trend to watch. Who was she inspired by? The star posted to Instagram: “She is dedicated to everyone responsible for The Queen’s Gambit.” She later went a deeper auburn at the Met Gala, even closer to Anya Taylor-Joy’s character in the Netflix series. So, this begs the question, is The Queen’s Gambit responsible for the redhead trend?

The Queen’s Gambit, October 2020

Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit was one of the most popular series of 2020 – and hair was central to the development of central character Beth Harmon. Played by icy blonde Anya Taylor-Joy Beth was originally written as a brunette in the Walter Tevis novel of the same name. Hair and makeup artist for the show Daniel Parker told Vogue he couldn’t imagine Beth as anything but “a feisty redhead” – and that Anya Taylor Joy and writer and director Scott Frank agreed that brunette locks simply wouldn’t capture the fierceness and complexity of the character. But, did they kick off the red-haired trend? Nope!

Zendaya, June 2019

Zendaya red hair for Spiderman press junket 2019
Image credit: Getty/Jon Kopaloff

Like all great trends, it seems the red hair movement started with Zendaya. In 2019 on the Spiderman: Far From HomeSpider-Man: No Way Home is a Wild Ride and Angourie Rice Can’t Wait for Fans to Watch it press junket Zendaya debuted a rich auburn shade – to the delight of Spiderman fans. The look was a homage to Mary Jane Watson, Peter Parker’s girlfriend and then-wife in the Marvel comics. Zendaya confirmed fans’ suspicions when she tweeted a picture of her new look with the caption “Face it, Tiger.” Fans went wild and a blockbuster trend was born.

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