How did the girl with dyed hair go from edgy to…everywhere? Dyed hair used to be a visual shorthand to convey a character’s “alternativeness,” but nowadays, it’s pretty much the norm.
Classically, dyed hair can be used on screen to set characters apart from their peers, whether because they have a strong feeling they don’t fit in, are sensitive or creative types, or are going through a youthful rebellion.
But nowadays onscreen, we’re seeing more characters who just happen to have brightly colored hair, or whose colorful hair speaks to more specific metaphors in the story. In Encanto, Isabella is the “perfect” sister, but she feels trapped by having to keep up appearances with her “gift.” As she discovers how far her powers can go, she plays with coloured dyes, leaving her hair covered in rainbow streaks.
But could this trend also just reflect a more basic need for color in our lives? In 2011, trend forecaster Andrea Praet told the New York Times that the new trend of rainbow dye jobs ‘wasn’t like the nineties” when color signaled alternativeness; now, colorful hair was about expressing joy. In today’s dark times, that joy is needed now more than ever.