Bella Hadid’s Best NYFW Beauty Moment Happened Off The Runway

Despite the name, a lot more than clothes are on display during New York Fashion Week. In between this year’s five-day stretch of endless runway shows, first looks, street style photo-ops, and Uber surge pricing, many of the more memorable moments are found after hours at exclusive parties and events for the city’s most stylish set. That’s certainly true in the case of Bella Hadid, who came out of the gate strong with one of the year’s best hairstyles on the very first night NYFW 2021. Bella Hadid’s hair, an elaborate updo accentuated by dangling charms and a halo of gravity-defying crisscrossed braids, immediately set the standard for every architecturally sound hairstyle to come — and if past and international Fashion Weeks are any indication, there will be many.

The style was constructed for Hadid’s big party celebrating her partnership with adaptogen-based energy drink brand, Kin Euphorics. Considering the enthusiasm with which Hadid promoted the drink, it was clear that the evening was a big one for the 24-year-old supermodel. In Instagram Stories shared from the night by Hadid herself, it looks like sleek was the operative word for her party look: a clavicle-baring strappy dress, a smoky cat eye, long red nails, and that hair.

Just a few tiles later, Hadid shared a more detailed view of her hair, tagging her longtime stylist, Mustafa Yanaz. Here, you get a better look at the intricate braiding, strategic pinning (crucial for any updo), and the glistening hair charms attached to the braids themselves:

While it’s still unclear exactly which shows she’s walking in, considering the week just commenced, based on Hadid’s appearances at the recent Paris couture shows we can expect to see plenty of trendsetting looks both on the runway, and at the after-parties.

Braids of all stripes are having a serious moment of their own, popping up on every celebrity and tastemaker in various forms at virtually every event, from waist-skimming feed-in braids in every hot color of the moment, to the Y2K-inspired baby braids that dress up even the most basic jeans-and-white-tee outfits. Versatile, stylish, and totally individual, braids are history’s favorite hairstyle for a very good reason—just ask Bella Hadid.