Slicked Back, Shower-And-Go Hair Is Officially NYFW-Approved

Jump in the shower for two minutes. Quickly comb your hair and swipe on a few coats of mascara. Pour a cup of coffee and run to the train. Sound familiar? As it turns out, designers want you to not only continue with your frantic morning routine but fully embrace it. Yes, your slicked-back wet hair was a key trend on the runways at New York Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2022. Lazy folks, rejoice.

Peter Do was the first to display the trend at its NYFW debut show on Wednesday in Greenpoint, where the key hairstylist Mustafa Yanaz explained, “the whole idea was that I wanted to show a women in a rush, [because] we don’t have time anymore when we go out.” According to the hairstylist, the inspiration was a woman who washes her hair, combs it, and then towel dries it. “This is like so New York to me,” he chuckled. “When I came to New York, I was seeing all the women with wet hair walking around and it looks so nice.” Yanaz adds that the luxury label didn’t want the hair to appear overly complicated, but still cool.

Peter Do

While it might feel hopeless to recreate the hair you see at the majority of fashion week shows, that wasn’t the case at Peter Do. In fact, Yanaz only applied two products to achieve the wet, slicked-back look. “We used a lot of gel in the roots to give the hair direction,” he explains. “If you just use water, the hair will move a lot because we’re outside.” On the ends, the expert applied water, argan oil, and a little bit of ECOCO’s Styling Gel to have a little flow for when the models waltzed down the catwalk.

To achieve what Yanaz described as a perfectly imperfect look, he first combed the hair back and then messed it up with his fingers. “You know, [it’s] how girls brush their hair in the shower and then they get out and it’s perfect — then they towel dry it and it’s kind of messed up,” he said about his inspiration.

Gabriela Hearst

And at Gabriela Hearst, key hairstylist James Pecis says the finish he was going for is best described as “a little bit post-rave, [and] really sweaty.” But, he explains that doesn’t totally follow through with girls that have curls, kinks, or coils. “I don’t want their hair to feel greasy,” Pecis tells TZR backstage. “So for them, it’s more about shape.” Meaning, for the models with shorter hair who were wearing it natural, it was a wash-and-go situation where he wetted it down in the bathroom and put priming lotion with a leave-in conditioner and wide tooth comb.

“Some of the other girls have a knot tied in the back,” Pecis adds. “It’s supposed to be, for lack of a better word, downtown.” Product-wise, the hairstylist used Oribe’s Très Set, Après Beach Wave And Shine Spray, and Surfcomber Tousled Texture Mousse.

Private Policy

Then there was Private Policy, which according to the key hairstylist Kien Hoang, featured hair that was, “really shiny, head-hugging, and sculpted as though all the models walked through a sprinkler and really just dipped their head in on a hot summer day.” He describes the texture as a hard-shell candy, yet super glossy and shiny so it appears wet.

“We’re using Oribe’s Foundation Mist as our prep product just to add a little bit of hydration and detangling,” Hoang explained to TZR backstage. “And we’re also using Oribe’s Supershine Light Moisturizing Cream as a moisturizing product to get that slip through.” Next up, Hoang applied the brand’s Curl Gloss Hydrate & Hold to add extra high gloss to strands. “[Lastly], we’re gonna lock it in with the Superfine Strong Hair Spray.”

Jason Wu

At Jason Wu, key hairstylist Jimmy Paul was responsible for the perfectly slicked back hair. As you can see above, a comb was used to brush the locks back into place. And when you’re deciding on the right product for your texture, it’s less about the type of gel or oil, and more about the amount (hint: it’s quite a bit). So, now that it’s runway-approved, keep sporting your wet, slicked-back hair around town. You’ll save time and be on-trend.