The Braidy Bunch

Wave goodbye to fuss-free hairdos and start brushing up on your hair-braiding skills, because this season every fashionista will be sporting a plait or two, whether it’s intricately piled atop the head, or arranged in a messy, Rapunzel-style braid.

The more dexterous among us might want to try their hand at a spot of fishtail braiding, a la hair stylists at Giles, who wove models’ hair expertly into an intricate network of messy fishtail plaits. Stylists over at Lyricism added ribbons, accessorised with super-pale skin and pastel colours – think a sugary sweet Wednesday Adams. For a more grown-up vibe, look to Amanda Wakeley for inspiration, where models wore fishtail braids wound round into neat buns. To recreate the look, part the hair in two, gather a small section from the right side, and bring it over to the left side. Then take a small section from the left side, and bring it over the right side. Keep doing this until all the hair has been braided, or head to wikihow, for a more comprehensive tutorial with pictures.

Who knew a young girl from a rural Swiss village could be so achingly in vogue right now? Dig out your old Heidi books for hair inspiration, because Heidi hair was big on the catwalks, and functional too, on those hot, sticky, summer days. They were all at it – Allegra Hicks, Bottega Veneta, Margaret Howell… We have celebs like Ashley Olsen and Alexa Chung to thank for this Swiss style, who were wearing braids on top of their heads seasons ago. The good news is that it’s easy for us mere mortals to recreate: simply separate your hair into two braids and pin each one to your head, two inches from your hairline, using kirby grips and a spritz of hairspray.

Braided hair too often brings back memories of school days, itchy blazers and lumpy custard, but on the Autumn/Winter catwalks, hair stylists showed us this needn’t be the case, with fabulously grown-up ‘dos. At Chloé, single plaits were messy and off-centred, and paired with a middle-parting, vampy lips, and luxe, oversized jumpers, whilst at Alena Akhmadullina and Prada, hair was backcombed, brushed off the face and loosely woven into chunky braids down models’ backs. Even I, a die-hard wearer of non-styled hair worn down, am tempted to join the braidy bunch this time around.