However, it was not until the 1970s that the look was embraced within Western popular culture. For example, in the late-1700s, Benjamin Franklin and French Revolutionaries alike were fond of a similar look, whilst in the 19th Century, members of the Nez Perce Native American people valued a hairstyle resembling what we now call a mullet.
This style continued to be mentioned in other sources through to the modern period. In the Ancient Greek epic, Iliad, Homer references the Abantes warriors with “their forelocks cropped, hair grown long at the backs”. The mullet has been around longer than just the 20th Century. But what are the roots of this controversial cut?Ī post shared by badgalriri History of the Mullet And though the mainstream revival of the mullet was firmly a result of 2020, it seems that it won’t be going anywhere in 2021, with Rihanna adopting the style (again) at the end of last year.
The haircut, known also by its slogan ‘business in the front, party in the back’, was, in the fashion world, officially chic again. Then, in 2019, the mullet was again seen on runways for fashion brands such as Gucci and Yves Saint Lauren and in 2020, celebrities such as Miley Cyrus, Billie Eilish, Christine and the Queens and Troye Sivan were seen sporting the look. From 2013, the mullet was spotted on catwalks and celebrities alike, though these choices were still mostly ridiculed within the tabloids. Despite these previous associations, we’ve seen the mullet slowly creep back into the mainstream. The mullet is no different: an iconic hairstyle so synonymous with the 80s that it later became infamous for its ugliness, and, like most 80s fashion, for its sheer un-stylishness. But, I was wrong, they all have, and here I sit in 2021, with a mullet.įashion, we know, is cyclical, and so it should come as no surprise that even the most controversial and disparaged styles have come back around in more modern, and ‘stylish’ iterations. Much like shoulder pads, flares, and even Y2K fashion, I had thought of mullets as a reminder of styles from the past that were distinctively of their time, styles that would probably never resurface. Although, it was really the past year that the mullet grasped a dominant position within the zeitgeist. However, over the past few years, the mullet has been steadily making a comeback. It fell from grace though, and soon became a symbol of bad taste. The mullet is a bold, even unmissable, haircut which was hugely popular from the 1970s through to the 1990s. Artwork – Business in the Front, Party in the Back, Elish Kathleen, 2020