Low ponytails, knots and texture: 5 hair trends from New York Fashion Week 2027
The runway is not the salon. But it often anticipates what clients start asking for a few months later.
New York Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2027 has just wrapped, and the hair message is clear: less rigidity, more movement. The low ponytail, knots, visible texture, softer updos and the side part are all back in focus.
Vogue highlighted the low ponytail as one of the clearest beauty signals from New York. ELLE, in its latest trend report, pointed to five directions: crimped texture, romantic updos, knots, volume and side parts. That does not mean every client will ask for these looks tomorrow. It means the direction is shifting, and hair professionals should watch it now.
1. The low ponytail is back
After seasons dominated by high, ultra-tight, social-media-ready ponytails, the centre of gravity is moving down. At NYFW, the ponytail sits at the nape and changes character: sleek, soft, folded or shaped into a knot.
Vogue documented different interpretations at Cult Gaia, TWP, Tory Burch and Maria McManus. The useful point for salons is not to copy the runway literally. It is to understand how a well-built low ponytail can become a fast, elegant and contemporary finishing service.
2. Knots replace the overly perfect pulled-back look
One of the most interesting details is the knot. Not the classic formal chignon, but folded ponytails, wrapped sections and deliberately softer constructions.
The styling should look easy even when the technique behind it is not. The hairdresser has to control tension, clean roots and hold without making the result look hard.
This is where professional technique becomes visible again: a hairstyle can look spontaneous, but it still needs a precise structure.
3. Crimp is back, but as a detail
This is not full-head 1980s crimping. At Christian Siriano Spring/Summer 2027, Lacy Redway used a much more selective approach: mostly sleek, shiny hair with small crimped sections added as accents.
Allure described it as a cleaner, more controlled interpretation of crimped texture. For salons, that makes it useful: a textured panel, one visible section or a hidden detail can change a blow-dry without rebuilding the whole look.
4. Updos become softer
ELLE also points to the return of romantic updos with loose strands and less rigid outlines. It is the opposite of the completely slicked-back, fixed-to-the-head finish.
Soft does not mean random. The structure still has to be there. The difference is that the structure should not look obvious.
This may be the easiest trend to translate into everyday salon work: bridal hair, events and special-occasion styling can become less static and more personal.
5. The side part gains space again
After years in which the centre part felt almost mandatory, the side part is appearing again in several looks. ELLE lists it among the directions seen in New York, from polished blowouts to more vintage-inspired waves.
For a hairdresser, it is a small but useful change. Moving the part can alter volume, facial proportions and the direction of the style without cutting a single centimetre.
What can really work in the salon?
The useful part is not reproducing a runway look literally. It is taking one element and making it wearable.
A low ponytail can become the finish of a service. A knot can become a quick updo. Crimp can be used as an accent. A side part can show a client a different version of herself without changing the haircut.
The MDP view
The signal from New York is not “everyone should wear a low ponytail”. It is something broader: styling is becoming visible again.
After seasons focused on highly natural finishes and looks designed to appear almost unconstructed, technical gestures are returning: folding, knotting, texturising and moving volume.
For hairdressers, that can be a useful opportunity to put technique back at the centre. Not to make services more complicated, but to show clients how many different versions the same head of hair can have.
Sources:
Vogue Beauty, Spring 2027 NYFW Trend Report;
Vogue, Get Low: NYFW Declares the High Pony Passé;
ELLE, Spring/Summer 2027 Hair Trends;
Allure, Crimped Hair at NYFW SS27.
