How Slicked-Back Hair Became Kendall Jenner and Joan Smalls’s Answer to Beach Waves

There’s hardly a better signifier of a sunny day well spent than a finger-combed mess of windswept waves, but leave it to the street style set to spark a party-ready hair trend that adds a bit of polished yin to all that beachy yang: slicked-back hair that conjures up lazy poolside chic and ’80s-inspired power glamour in equal measure—all while requiring little more than a fine-toothed comb and a dollop of gel to perfect.

It all began with Kendall Jenner and Joan Smalls, whose minimalist hair at Cannes made it look like they had taken a quick dip in the Riviera before diving into their gowns, while Toni Garrn took the style into hard-edged Helmut Newton territory with a liquid off-the-shoulder dress in Monaco.

But for all its ocean-fresh appeal, the clean sweep feels just as right for an evening in the city: Josephine Skriver and Stella Maxwell took the style to the red carpet in Manhattan in June, proving the look pairs just as nicely with clean skin and a ballgown as it does with a smudge of eyeliner and an androgynous tux.

 

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