Is Daisy Ridley’s Star Wars Hair Making Its Way From the Big Screen to the Street?

It was nearly four decades ago, in a galaxy far, far away, that Princess Leia first pulled her hood back to reveal two buns, tightly coiled around her ears—and set a serious expectation for high-impact hair in the world of Star Wars. This week, 10 years after the last film premiered, Star Wars: The Force Awakens will finally set the stage for a new statement-making look: Three messy knots down the back of the head, worn by Daisy Ridley’s desert scavenger, Rey.

Rey’s triple bun is the latest evolution in Star Wars hair history—after Leia’s twin buns and Padmé’s black Kabuki wig—and it puts a surprisingly modern spin on interstellar style. And so we wondered: Like the Katniss Everdeen braid and the Mad Max buzz cut before it, could the Star Wars triple bun become the next cinematic hairstyle with crossover appeal to hit the streets?

To find out, I head to Bumble and Bumble’s downtown salon, where editorial hairstylist Tiffani Patchett has agreed to help bring the look to life. “It’s a little more modern, a little more wearable than Princess Leia’s,” she says as she rakes my hair back from the temples and starts dousing it with product—Bumble and Bumble Prep, Styling Creme, and Thickening Spray—to craft enough volume and hold.

 

 

A messy, lived-in feel is key, Patchett explains. “She’s out in the elements, her hair is all over the place, so we’re going to need a dry, matte texture,” she says. Dividing my hair into sections and tugging the highest one flush against the scalp, Patchett anchors the top bun just below the curve of my skull and secures it with an elastic and hairpin. The center knot is placed squarely beneath the first and curled into an open loop, and once the bottom bun is arranged, hanging low by the nape of my neck, the mood shifts sharply. “That totally changed the look,” Patchett says. “It took it into sci-fi territory, but those wispy bits are so Valentino.”

Back at the office, the triple bun is a hit. “I like it!” a colleague tells me, noting that the undone feel is what makes it appear modern. Patchett agrees: “It’s totally runway, and I can see girls doing different versions with that texture.” Inspecting the finished product, there’s no doubt that it’s fantastic, a sculptural sci-fi creation—but I’m surprised by how universal it feels. The knots are a little bit punk, giving the look a polished-in-the-front, party-in-the-back vibe. But they’re also windswept, dreamlike, and oddly romantic—like something hairstylist Guido Palau might dream up for the runway—and by sporting them, I become, in my mind, a playful space renegade, ready for anything. Here’s to one Star Wars hairstyle that’s truly out of this world.

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