On the runways of New York Fashion Week, the side part is alive and well.
Take Sandy Liang’s spring 2026 ready-to-wear show. Here, the controversial style, which defined the beauty aesthetic of the 2010s, was cast in modern-day visions of the Lower East Side Manhattan cool-girl, with Peter Pan collars, fabric smocks and minimal makeup.
Meanwhile, at Tory Burch, trendsetters Alex Consani, Emily Ratajkowski and Paloma Elsesser were sent down the catwalk with side parts so prominent that it looked as if they had cut bangs. Front pieces practically swept across their foreheads, Justin Bieber style. Brandon Maxwell, on the other hand, used the style to complement a sense of nostalgia stitched into the floral, plaid and fringe garments he created inspired by his Texan roots.
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Elsewhere, designer Kate Barton tapped celebrity stylist Narad Kutowaroo, whose client list includes Margot Robbie and Kate McKinnon, to assemble the archetype side part tucked behind the ears. Conversely, PatBo informed a modern-day style twist, taking inspiration from the “wet hair” look using Eco Style Styling Gel to slick the models’ hair over and back in a twisted bun.
Fashion week’s side-part renaissance can be explained by a wider childhood revival happening in fashion and beauty now, where individuals are being influenced to buy plush accessories, dip-dye their hair and put on bold lip shades like they once did. The trend is also coinciding with a burgeoning early 2000s nostalgia on TikTok, as videos discussing the premiere of “Freakier Friday,” the 20th anniversary of “Hannah Montana” and Demi Lovato’s onstage reunion with the Jonas Brothers conjure up old memories in Gen Z and Millennials.
However, a simple search for “side part” online will generate a string of posts debating whether the style is cheugy or timeless, to be remembered or to be forgotten. Like Burch, Liang, Maxwell and Barton, a couple of celebrities have taken a pro-side part stance recently. At the 77th annual Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Sept. 14, “Nobody Wants This” actress Jackie Tohn arrived with her inky black hair brushed over the right side of her head, while Leighton Meester posed for the cameras with ginger-colored bangs swept across the left side of her forehead.
Indeed, the jury is still out on the side part ahead of fall as a litany of TikTokers continue to contest the return. That said, the shag, the slick back, ratty bangs, the French bob and strawberry-blond hair coloring are poised to be the top aesthetics this autumn.