We spotted twists, quiffs and even lopsided bowl cuts in New York. But the hair trend that took London Fashion Week by storm has got to be the most Instagram-worthy.

At Erdem, Temperley and Sophia Webster, designers and hairstylists took inspiration from hairstyles of yesteryear fashioning models’ lengths into twenties, thirties and forties-style finger waves. But, as expected at LFW, there were some surprising, contemporary twists along the way… 

Temperley London a/w 2018

At Temperley, hairstylist Antonio Corral Calero created a “modern take” on the finger waves worn by the courageous, pioneering women of the thirties, such as Marlene Dietrich and Amy Johnson.

To achieve the look, hair was smoothed from roots to ends with a few drops of Moroccanoil Treatment, £32.85, and parted on the left. A generous dollop of Moroccanoil Volumising Mousse, £19.35, and Moroccanoil Thickening Lotion, £19.85, were raked through, and the finger waves moulded. The aim of the game wasn’t perfection, and Antonio brought the current, slightly ‘undone’ vibe by skipping steps. 

Sophia Webster a/w 2018

‘Twenties cyber finger waves’ was the brief at Sophia Webster and Bumble and bumble definitely delivered. Hair was scraped back into a tight ponytail, flipped forward, then sculpted and pinned into finger waves that sat neatly on top of the head. To finish, lashings of pink, silver and gold glitter was sprinkled atop the gelled finger waves with a tool not often found in the kits of hairstylists: a spoon.

To keep the style on lockdown (and the glitter from falling into the models’ eyes) hair was veiled with a generous spritz of Bumble and bumble’s Strong Finish Hairspray, £23. 

Erdem a/w 2018

You can always count on Erdem to put a surprising spin on a classic look.

Hairstylist Anthony Turner wanted each model to look like she had been “fixing her car by the side of the road in the rain,” so the sophisticated, twenties-style finger waves had a “weathered” element to them.

He ‘baked in’ the wet-look waves with clips, followed by a blast of air from the Dyson Supersonic Hairdryer, £299.96 and gave the waves their structured finish by blanketing them with L’Oreal Professionnel Infinium Hairspray, £9.30. 

Images: REX Features/Ava Welsing-Kitcher