Just a few short years ago, the side part found itself on the ‘out’ list, lumped with skinny jeans and ankle socks as a symbol of outdated millennial style. Social media was ablaze with influencers declaring ‘Middle Part Baddies’ supreme, effectively shaming a generation into slicking their hair straight down the middle. Models, reality stars, politicians, and even stay-at-home moms embraced the central division throughout the early 2020s.
But not anymore. The side part is officially creeping back into the mainstream, marking an exciting shift in hair trends.
This once-shunned asymmetrical style is now being proudly showcased by some of the most influential women worldwide. Actress Zoë Kravitz has been spotted with her bob elegantly swept to the side, while singer Addison Rae channeled classic Hollywood glamour with a side-parted look at the Grammys. Podcaster Paige DeSorbo even dedicated a segment of her popular show ‘Giggly Squad’ to her new side part. Even staunch center-parters like Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and beauty mogul Hailey Bieber have recently made the switch. It seems a hair revolution is indeed underway.
“It’s definitely coming back strong,” confirms Doria Santlofer, a New York-based stylist who has personally embraced the side part for her long, wavy hair. She points to early adopters like Hailey Bieber, Zendaya, and singers Olivia Dean and Sabrina Carpenter. “Once these trendsetters wear it, it immediately becomes cool again.”
High fashion is also giving the side part its powerful endorsement. In January, British designer Phoebe Philo, known for her impeccable taste at Chloé and Céline, featured model Cathy Simmons sporting a severe side part alongside a leather jacket and bold earrings in her latest campaign. This look echoes Philo’s iconic Céline ads from the 2010s, which often featured her muse Daria Werbowy with a chic, side-parted bob.
Joseph Altuzarra’s spring fashion show in September highlighted this trend, with models parading down the runway in exaggerated side parts. Paired with flowing silk dresses and voluminous pants, the style exuded a romantic, ‘horse-girl’ aesthetic that wouldn’t feel out of place on the cover of a classic romance novel.
“I’m a side-part girl through and through,” shared Malina Joseph Gilchrist, the show’s stylist, adding that she believes it’s incredibly flattering. The hair direction for the show, she explained, was designed to “nod to the 1980s and celebrate the freedom of beautiful texture.”
My own Instagram post featuring model Betsy Gaghan from the show, with her long, bouncy, side-parted hair, was met with an outpouring of enthusiastic comments, mostly from millennials. Their reactions — “Finally!” and “I’ve been waiting for this!” — clearly indicated a collective sigh of relief for permission to return to a beloved style.
The cultural clash over hair parts escalated during the 2020 pandemic when everyone was online. TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube became battlegrounds for generational debates, with Gen Z openly criticizing millennial preferences. Side parts, alongside items like Stanley tumblers, Herbal Essences shampoo, the crying-laughing emoji, Christian-girl autumn aesthetics, ‘Wicked,’ golden retrievers, Golden Goose sneakers, and lasagna, were all declared ‘basic’ or ‘cheugy’— essentially, uncool.
However, as trend researcher Casey Lewis, who pens the youth-culture newsletter ‘After School,’ noted, when the side part was labeled ‘millennial,’ “the writing was always on the wall that the tide would turn back – that’s just what happens.”
Lewis suggests that the side part’s resurgence aligns perfectly with the current nostalgia for 2010s indie sleaze and a general longing for the year 2016. “Right now, it seems like there’s no millennial trend that Gen Z isn’t bringing back,” she observed.
Of course, hair part preferences have a long and varied history. Center divisions were popular in the 16th century, as seen in the ‘Mona Lisa.’ Victorian British women favored central parts for their curls, while American women often opted for side parts with their updos. Josephine Baker popularized a sleek, slicked-over side part in the 1920s, and Marcia Brady’s smooth center part defined 1970s hair. In the 1980s, side parts brought a preppy, ‘Sweet Valley High’-inspired softness.
The ‘middle part baddies’ of the 2020s drew inspiration from the minimalist 1990s. As celebrities like Kylie and Kendall Jenner, Hailey Bieber, and Kaia Gerber adopted that era’s understated uniform of Levi’s, white tank tops, and black leather jackets, they also embraced Kate Moss’s flat, center-parted hair. Now, that minimalist look appears to be evolving, making way for a touch more ‘oomph’.
“I feel the side part gives that Old Hollywood glamour,” states Marki Shkreli, a hair stylist whose clients include Naomi Watts and Uma Thurman, and who is increasingly incorporating the style. He finds inspiration in vintage photographs of icons like Jayne Mansfield and Natalie Wood.
So, will today’s Addison Rae-approved side part soon face ridicule from an even younger generation on TikTok? Perhaps not. Lewis points to a growing embrace of personal style and inclusivity among young people. “We’re headed toward a more fluid future where your teen might not be like ‘Ew, side part’ or ‘Ew, center part,'” she predicts. It’s a hopeful outlook for the future of fashion: no need to pick sides.