The Chameleons of Summer: How a Dramatic Hair Transformation Became the Season’s Secret Weapon

As summer prepares to make its slow, sunset-like descent into autumn, a quick look back at our favorite metamorphic beauty moments confirms that it was the season of the fearless hair change. Dramatic chops and color adjustments inspired us—while constantly keeping us guessing—and promised to provide a template for our own adventurous shifts going into September.

Case in point: Georgia May Jagger bleached her layered lengths before saturating sections in playfully bright pastels, resulting in a physical representation of summertime whimsy that will segue nicely into the washed-out shades of blush, lavender, and tangerine as the temperature dips. Meanwhile, Lupita Nyong’o proved that changing one’s hair can be done easily and often, morphing from short-haired siren into side-braid bohemian and back, this time with a headful of natural curls that we can’t help but mentally pair with a chunky knit sweater.

While many embraced the long, swingy lengths typically associated with beach bombshell season, hairstylist Orlando Pita snipped Amanda Seyfried’s signature wheat-colored mane into a shoulder-grazing, polished bob, and for a good cause—Seyfried donated her shorn lengths to Locks for Love. Also going against the grain: Poppy Delevingne, who lightened her honey-colored hair to an icy, Nordic blonde shade that seems rife for emulation.

But perhaps our favorite dramatic reveals arrived courtesy of Jennifer Hudson—whose ultra-short style only enhances her striking, pronounced features—and Greta Gerwig, who traded her shoulder-sweeping waves for a chin-length crop that she continued to braid, straighten, and slick back to transformative effect. Above, five summertime hair moments to inspire a seasonal reimagining of the mane.