Alexander Wang has been known to have his runway models go through some drastic hair changes hours before showtime. For Spring 2017, 18 models went bleach blonde, for Fall 2017, hairstylist Guido Palau gave '90s-inspired mushroom cuts, buzzcuts, and pixies, and for Spring 2018, colorist Josh Wood spent eight hours giving one model a new "rose quartz" hue. For Fall 2018—his last show in New York—Wang didn't call for any mass dye job or cut, but instead brought back an old friend: the claw clip.
Remember giant claw clips (also called jaw clips, banana clips, etc.) from the '80s and '90s?
It felt like every girl in 1993 used the claw to hold up ponytails, french twists, and that pineapple-looking updo with the strands of hair deliberately left out. Unlike butterfly clips or the Part Pizzazz, claw clips had staying power—they just disappeared from the public eye, relegated to holding up messy topknots at home.
With Wang's stamp of approval, they'll soon become the most coveted hair accessory again. Every model with hair long enough to be pulled back wore a chrome silver claw with his logo engraved on it. Yup, these claw clips are meant to be seen.
"I love the way that something that's been around and has a funny connotation can come back" Palau, leading hair again, said backstage regarding the clips, "Look at the mullet haircut: three or four years ago it was a no-no, and now it's super cool. I love the way that something is reintroduced into fashion and we look at it again in a different way. That's been happening for a while now, things that were considered not cool or a bit of can be rejigged again."
Palau explained the hair look was meant to evoke an '80s power executive, have a strong silhouette, and feel "super dynamic." He used Redken Forceful 23 to coat the hair and Redken Shape Factor 22 to have a very strong hold. Redken Hardwear 16 was also used to get really defined comb lines. Depending on the model's hair length, some got two silver clips while others got one.
As we saw when scrunchies were resurrected at Mansur Gavriel last season, everything old is new again. Palau mused that the Wang claw clip isn't just a return but, in fact, an introduction. "You've got to remember, lots of girls probably don't remember what the banana clip is!" he said,"There can be an 18-year-old girl or a 17-year-old girl—they don't know it has a funny connotation to it."
Expect to see them on every influencer, It Girl, and all over Instagram come fall. That gives you enough time to dig up your old clip collection.
