The 80s hairstyle trends of "Stranger Things"
How the TV series has definitively consecrated the return of the perm and the mullet
G-Club
July 13th, 2022
July 13th, 2022
From the theme song, with its lettering reminiscent of Stephen King's 1980s book covers, to everything else - the plot, the characters, the music, the setting - Stranger Things showed the general public an '80s aesthetic that in the eyes of Gen Z had always been very distant. Returning to the screen after three long years, Dustin, Will, Michael, Lucas & co still have a lot to do, such as saving each other from evil forces, mercilessly fighting the Demogorgons and protecting their best friend from evil scientists who would rather use her as a lab rat. But, like all other teenage high school students, they also have to try to look cool. And that's where Stranger Things hairstylist Sarah Hindsgaul comes in.
The latter, head of the hair department, has in fact been working on the series for a good - hear, hear - eight years. Working with the Duffer brothers and the actors, Hindsgaul and her team have created the memorable hairstyles seen in the first three seasons, including Eleven's (Millie Bobby Brown) shaved hairstyle, Will's (Noah Schnapp) bowl cut, Steve's (Joe Keery) mane cut, Dustin's (Gaten Matarazzo) curls and Nancy's (Natalia Dyer) gravity-defying perm. But let's come to the fourth and final season and the new cuts of the different characters.
Eleven's clip-on bangs
The resemblance between Winona Ryder (our beloved Joyce Byers) and Millie Bobby Brown was already uncanny, but Eleven's latest look has definitely upped the ante. According to Hindsgaul, the character's season four style (which featured Bobby Brown's real hair with extensions and fake fringes added) was designed to look like Joyce and she cut it on the kitchen counter along with Jonathan and Will's (perhaps to replicate the only style she knew how to do: her own).
Nancy's perm
When she's not telling a story or battling the latest beast to infiltrate town, Hawkins' "princess" Nancy Wheeler seems to be giving a master class on 'how to actually do a perm'. As for who taught her, Hindsgaul confessed that Jennifer Beals' Flashdance character Alex Owens was a very important reference.
Erica's accessories
Erica Sinclair's hair accessory game is as strong as her jokes; in fact, unsurprisingly, Hindsgaul took inspiration from another iconic 80s sibling: Rudy Huxtable from The Cosby Show. In addition to a penchant for sass, the two also share a mutual appreciation for brightly colored locks of hair. They're bold, sure, but Priah Ferguson wears them like a true professional.
Mike's shag
Even the world of hairstyle has its historical ebbs and flows. This is the case of the shag, the scaled cut that punctually returns to the crest of the wave. It is a medium length, grazing the shoulders, but lightened by more scaling, so as to give movement to the face. The only real difference here is the more blunt fringe, which makes Mike look like the kind of guy you might find knocking around bars in East London, but not necessarily in a bad way.
Steve's mullett
The muse behind Steve Harrington's iconic mane? "Morten Harket, the lead singer of the 80s band", Hindsgaul told Entertainment Weekly. It takes a special kind of man to make a truly swoon-worthy mullett, but Joe Keery's gorgeous face and Harrington's incredible babysitting skills ensure he's one of them.
