Katie Holmes’ Edgy New Bangs Channel A Punk-Rock Audrey Hepburn

Katie Holmes has always been one of the most quietly influential names in beauty. Largely sticking to polished, girl-next-door hairstyles and makeup choices, she’s been a stalwart of casual glamour ever since her Dawson’s Creek days. But Holmes doesn’t always play it safe — and the moments when she does step out of her aesthetic comfort zone instantly become iconic. For this September’s New York Fashion Week, Katie Holmes’ new bangs — short, razor-cut, and so French — stole the show as she traipsed through the city to assorted shows, appointments, and events. The definitively edgier look is an exciting change-up and suits the star unbelievably well. Could this be the next bang craze, poised to finally topple the curtain bang throne?

Holmes’ new bangs are the work of celebrity hairstylist DJ Quintero, who routinely works with her A-list peers like Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins, and Sarah Jessica Parker. Holmes has been dabbling with edgier motifs and accessories in general lately, showing off her dainty silver hoop nose piercing on a summer cover of Amazing Magazine. Quintero worked on her hair — an ultra-sleek slicked bun —for that shoot as well. Holmes’ bangs, though, take it to the next level. Cut at least an inch and a half above her arched brows, the fringe fans out in a rounded, gently side-sweeping pattern like a modern version of Audrey Hepburn’s iconic bangs.

Crucially, the bangs are also styled with product to make them reflectively glossy and shiny, and to hold them in place against Holmes’ forehead. The look feels at once retro, futuristic, sophisticated, and more than a little punk rock — a combination only someone of Holmes’ star stature could pull off.

The aesthetic transformation is an exciting one, too — just three days ago, earlier in New York Fashion Week, Holmes’ thick brunette hair was styled in her signature wavy lob, center-parted and bouncy.

It just proves how transformational even a simple haircut can be. A few snips of Quintero’s scissors, a little faith, a little pomade, and she’s suddenly a whole new Holmes.