New celebrity fashion statement: Bald is beautiful
By Emili Vesilind, Special to the Los Angeles Times
Everyone’s lived through at least one bad haircut -- a lopsided bob or too-severe shag that made you think, “I’d look better if I shaved my head.” But horrific haircuts don’t seem to be whats behind one of the edgiest tress trends in ages: the shaved skull.
A handful of fashion-forward female celebs — even Beyoncé’s sister Solange isn’t immune — have recently popped up on red carpets with freshly shorn noggins. A few are mowing it all off, while others are shaving the sides or doing a sides-and-back combo, leaving some length on top.
Kanye West‘s statuesque lady friend Amber Rose likes her locks Marine Corps-short and golden blond.(Dan Steinberg / Associated Press)
Everyone’s lived through at least one bad haircut -- a lopsided bob or too-severe shag that made you think, “I’d look better if I shaved my head.” But horrific haircuts don’t seem to be what’s behind one of the edgiest tress trends in ages: the shaved skull.
It all started with Alice Dellal, the British socialite, model and “it” girl who buzzed the left side of her long, cascading coif down to the skin. Then Amber Rose, Kanye West’s girlfriend (another model), started making the scene with her bleached-out buzz cut.
Brit “it” girl Alice Dellal (getting a hug from Peaches Geldof at the UK premiere of “Bruno”) kicked off the shaved craze with her daring one-sided coif. Punk? Pretty? Yeah, its both.(Dave Hogan / Getty Images)
But you knew the trend was really taking shape a couple of weeks ago when Rihanna transitioned her sleek, boyish crop into a punk-rock masterpiece by shaving the back and sides of her delicate cranium.
Of course, shaved female heads have a long history in music. Avant-garde singer-model Grace Jones challenged the status quo with her severe flat top (with shaved sides) in the late ‘70s, and Annie Lennox channeled cartoonish masculinity with her bright-red buzz cut in the ‘80s the same decade when Irish singer Sinead OConnor showed up with a head so cue-ball bald we wondered if she wasnt sickly.
R&B star Rihanna recently took her androgynous do down to nothing on the sides and back.(Max Nash / AFP / Getty Images)
The current craze for the razor may be just another ‘80s fad retooled for the Aughts but with all the punky, moto-inspired looks that have rolled down the runways the past two seasons, we say its about time pretty hair faced something more fierce.
Emerging R&B singer Cassie has been channeling ‘80s hip-hop by shaving designs into the buzzed side of her otherwise long coif.(Dan Steinberg / Associated Press)
