Key takeaways
- Gigi Hadid wore an affordable tortoiseshell zig-zag headband after walking Miu Miu's Spring/Summer 2027 show on October 4, reviving a late 1990s hair accessory.
- The scalloped headband works equally well on straight, wavy, and curly hair without additional styling tools or products.
- Hailey Bieber and Bella Hadid have also adopted the trend, with Bella wearing the accordion version, legitimizing the Y2K accessory as a Fashion Week moment.
- A $525 luxury version by Miu Miu exists, but affordable plastic versions cost under $10, making this trend accessible to all fashion followers.
The past few weeks at Paris Fashion Week have celebrated hair complexity. Runways have served sculptural frizz, combover-esque bangs, and intricately crimped textures—trends that seem designed to test the patience and skill level of anyone attempting to replicate them at home. For a viewer watching these looks, the question is often not whether they want the style but whether they have access to the right tools, products, and professional expertise to achieve it. Yet among all the engineered hair moments of the season, one accessory has emerged as perhaps the most talked-about, precisely because it requires no expertise whatsoever. After walking Miu Miu’s Spring/Summer 2027 show on October 4, Gigi Hadid was spotted leaving the venue in a tortoiseshell zig-zag headband—a $10 plastic comb that dominated the late 1990s and early 2000s and has now made an unexpected return to fashion relevance.
Understanding the Zig-Zag Headband
What It Is
The accessory goes by multiple names depending on geography and generational memory. Shark-tooth headband, comb headband, scalloped headband, zig-zag headband—they all refer to the same object: a band fitted with unmistakable wavy teeth that grip the hair while keeping the face clear of stray strands. The design is purely functional, with no embellishment required. The teeth grip firmly enough that hair stays secure throughout the day without additional styling or product. Its return marks a cultural moment. For anyone who grew up in the late 1990s or early 2000s, seeing this accessory walk out of Paris Fashion Week worn by one of the world’s biggest supermodels feels like vindication for every questionable style choice of that decade.
How It Works Across Hair Types
The headband’s universal functionality is one reason for its appeal. It works equally well on straight hair, waves, and curls. The scalloped teeth grip without damaging the hair shaft, and the hold is secure enough that hair stays in place without additional styling, heat tools, or product. For readers with textured or curly hair, the headband offers advantages over other Fashion Month trends. Sculptural frizz requires either natural texture expertise or specific styling products and tools. The headband, by contrast, simply requires the headband itself and hair pulled back from the face.
How Gigi Styled the Headband
The Complete Outfit Breakdown
What made Hadid’s moment distinctive was not the headband in isolation but the complete styling surrounding it. She paired the accessory with long, blonde hair swept back from her face, a loose white button-down worn unbuttoned over a white bra, well-fitted jeans cinched with a brown leather belt, and white mesh ballet flats embellished with tiny floral patterns. The brown Miu Miu bag completed a picture that felt utterly divorced from the typical Fashion Week aesthetic. Rather than appearing as a carefully engineered moment designed to maximize photographs, the outfit read as though she had just stepped out of a high school hallway in 2002—the difference being that the person wearing it is a supermodel stepping away from one of the world’s most prestigious runways.
Why The Styling Works
The styling choice itself is instructive. Hadid kept everything else neutral, allowing the headband to be the singular accent rather than one element competing for visual attention. The white and blue palette is simple. The footwear is understated. The bag is recognizable but not ostentatious. The lesson for readers is clear: if you are bringing back a Y2K accessory, the rest of your look should recede into simplicity. Anything busier would fight against the nostalgic feeling and tip the look toward costume rather than fashion.
The Celebrity Adoption
Hadid is far from alone in embracing the trend. Hailey Bieber has been wearing the style repeatedly in recent weeks, signaling that the moment has momentum beyond a single Fashion Week sighting. Bella Hadid, Gigi’s sister, has opted for the accordion version, a corrugated cousin with the same functionality but a slightly different visual texture. The presence of the accessory on multiple high-profile celebrities across the same period suggests this is not a fleeting moment but a genuine trend revival, one that moves the zig-zag headband from nostalgic bathroom-drawer relic to legitimate fashion statement.
The Price Paradox
The pricing around the trend reveals something unexpected about Fashion Week’s current approach to trends. Becky Armstrong wore the Miu Miu Metal and Leather Headband to the show itself, priced at $525. The luxury version functions identically to a plastic headband, delivering the same hold and the same face-framing effect. Yet Gigi chose one of the ubiquitous plastic versions, the kind still sold at drugstores and big-box retailers for less than $10. The 50-fold price difference between the two options is striking, yet both exist within Fashion Week’s current conversation about hair and beauty.
This price paradox points to what may be the headband’s greatest strength: it is perhaps the most accessible trend emerging from Paris Fashion Week this season. While other hair moments require specific tools, product investments, or professional styling expertise, the zig-zag headband requires only the headband itself. For fashion followers who want to participate in trends but cannot or do not want to invest substantially in achieving them, the headband offers a genuine entry point. It is possible to own this trend for less than the cost of a single salon visit, and the headband can be worn immediately upon purchase without any preparation, styling work, or product application.
Why This Trend Endures
Fashion Month typically celebrates aspiration, luxury, and the challenge of complexity. The zig-zag headband, by contrast, celebrates simplicity and accessibility. Whether a trend has longevity often depends on how easily people can adopt it. By that measure, the zig-zag headband has significant advantages over other trends shown on Paris runways this season. It takes a supermodel wearing a $10 accessory to remind fashion followers that sometimes the best trends are the ones that cost almost nothing and require almost no effort to wear.
Source: Allure
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a zig-zag headband?
Also called a shark-tooth or comb headband, it is a band fitted with unmistakable wavy teeth designed to grip the hair while keeping the face clear of stray strands.
How did Gigi Hadid style the zig-zag headband?
She wore it with long blonde hair swept back, a loose unbuttoned white button-down over a white bra, jeans with a brown leather belt, white mesh floral ballet flats, and a brown Miu Miu bag for an understated off-duty look.
How much does a zig-zag headband cost?
Affordable plastic versions cost less than $10 and are available at drugstores and big-box retailers, while Miu Miu's luxury Metal and Leather version is priced at $525.
