Wet look hair is a trend in itself. Seen on both statuesque celebrities on red carpets (teamed with a power suit, of course) and in those poolside holiday Instagrams we all hate to like, it’s quickly gone from accidentally greasy to chic and boundary-pushing. Teamed with two schoolgirl-ish plaits, however? We’re not so sure. See how Alexander McQueen’s SS19 look translated on our beauty team.

Lucy Partington, Stylist’s beauty editor says:

The plaits combined with all-black everything (and the fact my hair looks about five shades darker than it does in real life) is giving me serious Wednesday Addams vibes. But, you know what, I’m not mad about it. I’m also not as mad as I thought I would be about the lashings of gel I had to put on to achieve the wet-look finish. If we ignore the fact I’d never do this in a real-life situation, I’m going to score it a solid 7/10. 

Hanna Ibraheem, Stylist’s beauty writer says: 

When I pulled on my striped T-shirt and saw the look we were doing, my first words were, “I’m going to look like Pippi Longstocking, aren’t I?” And I wasn’t wrong. I separated my hair into two bunches – leaving out two long strands to run in front of my ears – and braided my hair as far down as I could, making sure no layers were poking out. I then used a handful of gel to wet the top of my head. Once complete, I actually quite liked it. Maybe looking like Pippi isn’t such a bad thing after all. 

Ava Welsing-Kitcher, Stylist’s junior beauty writer says: 

Ew, no. This look reminds me of my standard childhood hairstyle – two plaits with random sprouts of hair escaping from them – but the addition of water and gel makes it so much worse. The damp tendrils curling up around my face gave me the creeps and kept smearing gel onto my skin. On the plus side, the plaits gave me some lovely loose waves after I unravelled them… so even though I hate the look itself, at least I’ve found a new overnight hair hack. Every cloud…

Verdict

The childhood memories came through strongly for our recreation of Alexander McQueen’s wet look, but we’re pretty certain that images of Pippi Longstocking weren’t plastered on the mirrors backstage. Although some of us didn’t mind the schoolgirl style, for once the nostalgia was just too much. Plus, copious amounts of gel will always prejudice us against any look.

Images: Republic of Photography/Courtesy of brands