Shay Mitchell Just Traded In Her Long Waves For The Kris Jenner Special

Based purely on how extreme and exciting last year’s celebrity hair transformations were, you’d think the stars would keep it low key for at least a little while leading into 2024. But with creatives of Shay Mitchell’s caliber, there’s no time for slow and steady — dramatic new hairstyles and colors demand to be seen now, the ultimate antidote to that late winter doom and gloom that rolls around every January. Aptly captioning her big reveal post “new year, new hair,” Mitchell debuted a pixie cut, dyed a rich jet-black and chopped into voluminous layers. Despite the Béis founder’s penchant for major, unexpected changes, judging by her Instagram comment section, this is one switch-up no one saw coming.

In the high-glam shoot conducted by photographer Sarah Krick, a blazer-clad Mitchell poses in rectangular sunglasses, jeans, and her new hair swept to the side and fluffed up into an edgy, ‘80s-adjacent fashion. It would be a seriously cool style on its own, but it’s made all the better by the glaring similarities between Mitchell’s fresh look and Kris Jenner’s iconic above-the-ear crop.

The striking style was created by celebrity hair artist Ricky Fraser, the mind behind some of Mitchell’s coolest ever beauty moments. Despite her Instagram caption, though, only time will tell if her new pixie is the real deal or simply an excellent wig. She’s fooled fans before — in the final weeks of 2023, she showed off some very convincing red hair for a Byrdie photoshoot, only to reemerge with her signature espresso brown shade the next day.

What’s especially interesting about Mitchell’s cut is how the Kris Jenner of it all fits into ongoing beauty trends. That distinctly-shaped style — somewhere between a true pixie and a pageboy, really — has been popping up more and more often lately, and comparisons to the legendary momager are almost always referenced. Kylie Jenner, played overt homage to the look at a birthday party honoring her mother (immortalized on Hulu’s The Kardashians), while similar crops have been popping up on other stars like Cardi B.

But really, doesn’t Mitchell’s new hair just cement how timeless and universal the super-short haircut is? Expect plenty more stylish celebrity to get Kris’d before 2024 is through.