For years we have tried to make hair take up less and less space. Straight strands, barely defined waves, ultra-polished ponytails, taut buns, and roots glued firmly to the scalp have accompanied a beauty aesthetic defined by minimalism. Even when we wore loose hair, the finish aimed to look simple, controlled, and almost effortless.
But the first Spring-Summer 2027 collections are starting to signal a change. Hair is growing back, at least visually. Raised roots, voluminous curls, big waves, and that sense of a full mane that inevitably recalls the glamour of the 70s and 80s return.
However, it is not about literally reviving the impossible backcombing or the rigid hairstyles of that era. The 2027 version preserves the volume, but loses much of the artifice. The hair moves, preserves a certain imperfection and, above all, looks much lighter.
And perhaps that is what is truly interesting about this trend: after so long trying to make our hair seem perfectly controlled, we want it to have presence again.
From polished hair to voluminous, movement-filled manes
The change has been especially clear during New York Fashion Week. In the Spring-Summer 2027 show by Diane von Furstenberg, a label inevitably linked to the glamour of the 70s, the models appeared with large manes and almost cottony-looking curls. The hairstylist Mustafa Yanaz translated that reference from Studio 54 into a much more current hair, also accompanied by a luminous and sophisticated beauty.
Runway of the new Spring-Summer 2027 collection by Diane Von Furstenberg.
The choice is not casual. The collection marked Diane von Furstenberg’s return to New York Fashion Week after nearly a decade and recovered part of the universe that turned the designer into one of the great names of the 70s. The hair helped build precisely that image: a polished and glamorous woman, but also carefree.
It is almost the opposite end of the ultralight manes we have seen in recent seasons. It is no longer so much about eliminating frizz, smoothing the roots, or achieving a perfectly precise finish, but about giving back to the hair what for years we have tried to take away: volume.
The 80s also return, but not as we remember them
Christian Siriano was one of the brands that brought it back for Spring-Summer 2027. The stylist Lacy Redway created what she dubbed enchanted crimp, a much more contained reinterpretation of those completely wavy manes that we immediately associate with the 80s.
Rather than working on all the hair, Redway started from smooth and glossy manes and introduced small zones with that horizontal texture. The effect behaved almost like an accessory within the hair itself and demonstrated something important about the return of these references: they do not come back in a literal way.
Hair with wave detail at the Christian Siriano show
The same texture also appeared, reinterpreted in different ways, at Christian Cowan and Area. In some cases it was integrated into updos and ponytails and, in others, it was used only around the face.
It is precisely this way of using past references that makes them not look old. There is no need to reproduce an eighties mane in full to introduce that point of volume or texture.
How voluminous manes will look in 2027
The main difference lies in the finish. If we think of the big hairstyles from the 70s and, especially, the 80s, we would probably imagine lacquer, backcombing, and hair that is practically immobile. Now it is exactly the opposite.
Volume is concentrated mainly at the roots and mid-lengths, but the ends retain movement. The curls open up, the waves do not have to be perfectly identical, and the hair can even retain some natural texture.
It is the same phenomenon we are already seeing in other areas of beauty: after several seasons in which everything had to appear imperceptible, finishes that are somewhat more visible and expressive are gaining ground. Makeup regains color and hair again becomes an important part of the look.
Is it necessary to sport an XL mane?
Although the most spectacular images of the trend usually appear on long hair, volume also works on shorter cuts.
A bob can gain body simply by lifting the root and slightly rounding the ends. A clavicle-length cut allows for big waves and front layers. Even a pixie can move away from the ultra-flat finish by working more on the top area.
Because the volume of 2027 is not so much about a specific length as about an attitude toward hair. In the face of the obsession with keeping every strand exactly in place, it proposes something much more relaxed: let the mane have shape, texture, and movement.
