I have a furiously stubborn cowlick on the right side of my hairline. No matter how hard I try to clip or blow-dry it into submission, it bounces right back to a funky-looking swirl. Because I must be some sort of masochist, I also have curtain bangs, so despite meticulous styling, the pieces never lay quite as feathery as my ’70s references. “Wow, this side really wants to do what she wants!” is a comment I’ve heard time and again from hairstylists as they attempt to sweep my front pieces into a wispy triangle shape.

I’m sure many of you share my frustration. Over 95% of the population has at least one cowlick, after all. You can likely imagine my surprise and delight when I saw models on Altuzarra’s F/W 25 runway playing up those natural patterns with voluminous face-framing pieces—a concept otherwise known as the “cowlick fringe.” Below, find every single detail from my backstage sleuthing.

Rather than forcing strands into a uniform style, the cowlick fringe embraces the natural swirl, even if the strands flow in opposite directions. The look recently gained traction on TikTok, where the Hair Bros, a UK-based styling duo, explained how to work with cowlicks for a voluminous ’80s feel. “In the past where fringes and bangs were perfect, straight and very blunt, it is true [that] a cowlick would cause chaos,” the video caption reads. “But these days where everything is softer, hair moves more, then a cowlick can actually work beautifully with your fringe if it’s cut in the right way.”

Cut to the six-day whirlwind of New York Fashion Week, where I noticed multiple models at Altuzarra sporting sky-high, swirly bangs and swooped side parts. “It’s all about just being effortless,” key stylist Mandee Tauber says backstage. “It feels like they literally [styled] it themselves.” Altuzarra wasn’t the only show to embrace the funky bends this season. At Collina Strada, celebrity hairstylist Mustafa Yanaz fashioned crimped “devil horns” on models’ crowns. “You know that Instagram filter? I wanted that in real life,” he tells me backstage. Celebrity hairstylist Lacy Redway even incorporated “intentional static” to the side-parted looks at Prabal Gurung. “I’m bringing bedhead back,” she shares.

To style a cowlick fringe, the Hair Bros recommend rolling the bangs with a round brush for 20 seconds under a blow-dryer, then raking the strands backward with your fingertips. “The aim is to look like an ’80s librarian,” they say in the video. (Personally, I can totally get behind the shift from ’70s-inspired curtain bangs to chic, ’80s librarian hair.) Of course, the products you use matter too. Scroll ahead to shop everything you need to enhance—not tame—the natural lift.

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