I called it. I hate to say I told you so, but I told you so. (OK, I actually love to say I told you so.) When Nicole Kidman showed up at The Hollywood Reporter's Women in Entertainment Gala on December 4 wearing a deeply side-parted fringe with some serious height, I suggested we may be seeing a subtle return to what has affectionately been called “mall bangs” — a simplified term for the voluminous bangs of the late ‘80s and early ’90s. And now, other celebrities have followed suit with fringe reminiscent of this generously hairsprayed era, the latest being Keke Palmer.
While speaking in Atlanta over the weekend for her Many Masters tour — promoting her new book, Master of Me — Palmer appeared on stage wearing a pastel pink miniskirt and the prettiest, flounciest floral blouse. She kept the colour theme going with monochromatic pale pink makeup, but the real star of her beauty look was, in my opinion, her hair.
Palmer wore long, loose, va-va-voom curls that draped down past her shoulders, but it's what was happening on top that had me thinking back to my middle school days in New Jersey. She wore wispy fringe topped off with a side part and a noticeable increase in oomph right at the front.
When editorial assistant Jennet Jusu saw it, she immediately called out the similarities between Palmer's look and DJ Tanner's circa 1990.
And Palmer's not the only one who picked up the mall-bangs torch since Kidman ran with it earlier this month. Makeup artist Fiona Stiles shared a photo of Elizabeth Banks shot by hairstylist Clayton Hawkings, who gave the actor, director, and game show host side bangs with a bigger arc than most TV characters.
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The satin yellow dress that keeps on giving.
As we enter 2025, I can't help but predict that we're going to see a full-blown (or rather, full-blow-dried) return to big bangs. So get your strong-hold hairspray ready — it's going to be a flammable year.
This article originally appeared on Allure.
