When I was a bottle blonde, I often joked that
maintaining my beyond-bleached hair was my
one true hobby. I cherished every single moment of the
never-ending ritual of having toxic chemicals gently applied
to my scalp. Then, one day, the best hairdresser I’d ever
had refused to continue apace. Citing ethical concerns after
a five-year relationship, she said my hair was too damaged,
and any further coloring would be immoral. I have quietly
mourned my white-blonde ambitions ever since.
Long before I danced with the peroxide devil, I kept an
ever-expanding taxonomy of iconic blondes: that precise
diamond-white made extra bright by Old Hollywood
celluloid; the Hitchcockian frost immortalized by Kim
Novak and Grace Kelly; the sun-kissed streaks of California
surfer girls and boys; and the punk-rock downtown
basement blondes, whose amateur dye jobs can take years
of professional training to emulate. But there are really
only two ways to be blonde: You make it look effortless—
BEAUTY or you make it look obvious, as though you stuck your head
into a bucket of Clorox with reckless relish.
And yet the blonde hair that defined the spring runways was
somehow both—one part precise, one part carefree—and
deeply nostalgic. When Kendall Jenner emerged onto Riccardo
Tisci’s Burberry runway, her signature center part gave way
to toasted gold streaks that showcased a dark brunette base
underneath. “Smoky gold” is how Jenner’s colorist and
Redken brand ambassador Cassondra Kaeding refers to the
catwalk color administered by Tracey Cunningham, which
Kaeding’s clients have started requesting for its “just enough
ash, mixed with gold” quality. Bella Hadid debuted a similar
shade at the start of the season that was inspired by a picture
of Kate Moss on a 2003 cover of French Vogue, according
to Hadid’s colorist, Jenna Perry, who
specializes in the kind of natural-but-
not look that makes the noughties
a particularly good
Lighten Up
Never mind the ’90s; the noughties are making a comeback.
But are we ready for the return of Y2K blonding?
BEAUTY>94
BLEACH REPORT
THE LATEST BLONDE?
DELIBERATE YET
NATURAL, WITH A
HINT OF NOSTALGIA.
VLIFE
88 APRIL 2020 VOGUE.COM
CLORAX,
BY DONALD STEVENSON
