Bella Hadid Makes Her Case for Headbands in 2026

Bella Hadid is making her case for headbands in 2026.

The 29-year-old model and revered style mogul was spotted sporting the retro hair accessory à la Brigitte Bardot in Aspen on Thursday, with an extra-large Revolve x Fwrd shopping bag in hand.

Dressed in a collarless leather jacket, Hadid opted for a shiny black headband, which brushed her dirty blond hair off her forehead and into a bouffant bump on the crown of her head. Though it wasn’t padded, the accessory harked back to the beauty aesthetic of the 1960s, when it was first popularized by Bardot. Back then, the French film siren would strategically place her headbands in front of her ears and tease her bleach blond hair around it.

The headband has taken on many forms throughout the years. Its been stretchy, silky and everything in between. The 1920s saw the headband become a centerpiece on the head thanks to Louise Brooks, who often wrapped and knotted fabric around her head. In the 1970s, women mostly wore patternered scarves and braided rope, slicking their side bangs under and behind their ears. The 1990s were when zigzag combs and stretchy sweatbands became popular, making what had previously been considered a maximalist accessory more casual thanks to characters like Cher and Dionne from “Clueless.” And by the time the early 2000s rolled around, when “Gossip Girl” was all the rage, teens and tweens were emulating Blair Waldorf by donning every kind of headband they could get their hands on.

In 2021, Prada’s pillowed headband was put on the map by poet Amanda Gorman when she wore a ruby red one from the spring 2019 collection at Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration. It wasn’t long before other celebrities caught on to the Prada headband hype, such as Addison Rae and Alexa Demie, juxtaposed the sumptuous accessory with workout leggings and Ugg slippers.