Sunday February 22, during the 79th BAFTA ceremony at the Royal Festival Hall in London, Kate Middleton appears on the arm of Prince William in a long flowing Gucci dress, powder pink tending to lilac, already worn during a charity dinner in 2019. Back in the London spotlight, the future queen appears with an unexpected beauty look which shakes up her very codified habits. Open shoulders, airy silhouette… and a hair transformation that changes everything.
Kate Middleton’s royal return to the red carpet
This choice of recycled dress confirms Kate Middleton’s taste for more responsible fashion, without giving in to glamour. The vaporous cut leaves the neck bare and frames the face, the perfect setting to highlight your new hairstyle. Kate Middleton became, in just a few hours, the most shared beauty image of the evening.
Gone is the ultra-smooth blow-dry that served as a signature. The princess opts for a well-defined side parting and a real cascade of princess curls, soft, brushed, which come alive with each of her steps. Its deep brown, lit with honey blonde highlights, catches the light of the spotlights and gives the whole thing an almost solar relief.
Why is her hairstyle so popular?
What strikes you first is the balance between volume and fluidity. The lengths do not create rigid curls but broad, airy waves, which frame the face while letting the material live. The result softens its head shape, modernizes its princely look and gives this impression of hair releasedwithout losing the very elaborate side dear to red carpet hairstylists.
To understand this royal finish, we must return to the method detailed by Richard Ward, celebrity hairstylist who has already worked with Kate, interviewed in the past by the Daily Mail. He first warns that “A finish like this takes time. You can’t just wash your hair, do a quick dry and run the plates if you want to get Kate’s result“.
The quick tutorial for reproducing Kate Middleton’s curls
The specialist explains: “You must first blow-dry as smooth and neat as possible, eliminating any frizz or natural waviness.“. Then comes the iron work: “Divide each side into four or five sections“, spray with a heat-protective spray, then wrap each strand around a medium iron facing downward: “We keep a long smooth part before the wave starts. And it’s not a tight loop (…) it’s much more flexible, only about three turns“. Finally, he advises fixing the shape by letting the curled strands cool: “The longer you leave it attached, the longer it will last“.
Fine, thick or already wavy hair can adopt this signature: smooth blow-drying, side parting, large curls rolled up then left to cool, before a pass with a wide-toothed comb and a veil of soft hairspray.