Slicked buns are out. Soft waves, braided crowns and fishtail plaits are what the summer of The Odyssey has done to everyone’s hair.
Cinema has always had a way of nudging beauty in a new direction, and this summer belongs to Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. Zendaya, Anne Hathaway and Lupita Nyong’o have spent the press tour leaning hard into the film’s ancient Greek setting, and the hair has done most of the talking.
The mood is Aphrodite and Athena rather than anything strictly historical: majestic but romantic, soft but with some structure holding it together. It’s the opposite of the poker-straight, laminated finish that has dominated the last few years. And it isn’t only the Odyssey cast wearing it. Daisy Edgar-Jones and Ayo Edebiri have both been going the same bohemian route.
“We’ve had years of slicked buns and laminated hair, where every strand has to ‘behave’,” says hairstylist Luke Hersheson. He describes the shift as something more human, feminine without feeling overworked, which is what keeps it modern instead of costume-y.
The catch is that Grecian hair can look complicated while needing to read as though nobody tried. Flyaways stay. A bit of frizz stays. Wispy pieces around the face are the point, and whatever your natural texture does, you work with it. Hersheson’s advice is blunt: stop fighting the hair you have, and let it curl, bend or wave if that’s its instinct.
Here are the styles worth attempting, and how to get there.
S-waves with a half-pony
Hathaway has worn S-waves in nearly every configuration on this press tour, courtesy of hairstylist Orlando Pita. Loose, swept into a half-up ponytail, pinned into an up-do. They travel well.
Pita’s method: blow-dry with a heat protectant first, then mist through his Max Capacity Texture Spray, which gives grip and body without the stiffness. He teases lightly at the roots for volume, then takes a section, places a T3 32mm curling iron underneath it, then over, then under again, working all the way to the ends and repeating throughout.
For the half-up version, he pulls two sections back from either side of the head, pins them, and leaves soft pieces loose at the front.
Tousled waves and a braided crown
“Ethereal goddess” was the brief hairstylist Coree Moreno worked to for Zendaya’s braided crown and airy waves at the film’s London premiere. Hersheson says texture is what makes or breaks it. You want something soft, almost weathered.
Work a texturising spray such as Larry King’s Ride or Die through the mid-lengths and ends for grip and a lived-in finish. For the waves, the double-barrel attachment on the Hershesons Multi-Tasker gives you loose, irregular bends rather than tidy curls, which is the goal. Let the hair cool, then rake your fingers through it and let a few flyaways sit around the face.
On the braided crown, Hersheson recommends using a separate hair extension piece instead of braiding your own hair. Placement is easier and the whole thing stays balanced.
The sculptural LoopFro
Vernon François is clear that he wasn’t chasing anything Grecian for Nyong’o. His starting point was her own Afro-kinky, coily hair pattern, and every look was built to celebrate it rather than turn it into something unrecognisable.
The LoopFro he created for the Paris premiere is the one with real echoes of classical sculpture: a series of loops that came out statuesque and, somehow, cheerful at the same time. The tools were almost comically basic. Thread, a needle, a little gel, patience. As François puts it, the simplest tools sometimes leave the longest impression.
He prepped with Olaplex No.3 Plus to strengthen and protect before styling, then finished with No.7 Bonding Oil for shine.
Fishtail plaits
Look at Greek frescoes and statuary and braids are everywhere. The braided crown may be the style most associated with the period, but the fishtail is what has actually caught on now. Ayo Edebiri wore one to the 2026 Met Gala; Zendaya wore a looser version to the New York premiere.
You want length, loose waves running through it, wispy bits escaping and a finish that looks slept in. Texture spray is non-negotiable.
The technique is easier than the result suggests. Split the hair into two sections, take a small piece from the outer edge of one and cross it over to the inside of the other. Alternate sides all the way down. When you reach the end, tug gently at the braid so it doesn’t look too precise.
Loose tendrils
The lowest-effort entry point. Whether the hair is in a low bun (Edebiri and Millie Bobby Brown have both done it) or half-up like Zoë Kravitz at Saint Laurent’s autumn/winter 2026 show in March, a couple of face-framing pieces left out changes everything. Pita says it brings ease and youthfulness to a style that could otherwise read as stiff.
Pull two pieces free before you secure anything, then either leave them to their natural texture or add a soft bend. The new GHD Sculpt Styler, with its curved edges, makes that part quick.
The kit
- Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray, £22, Cult Beauty
- T3 SinglePass X Curl, £179.99, T3
- Philip Kingsley Elasti-Styler Extreme Curl Cream, £32, Lookfantastic
- Hershesons The Multi Tasker, £195, Hershesons
- Dizziak Hard Serum, £28, Space NK
- Olaplex No.3 Plus Complete Repair Treatment, £32, Lookfantastic
- Olaplex No.7 Bonding Oil, £28 (currently £22.40), Lookfantastic
- Gisou Honey Gloss Collagen Drops Hair Oil, £22, Cult Beauty
- GHD Sculpt Interactive Hair Straightener, £369, John Lewis
