Grey hair is having a high-fashion moment this fall

For Batsheva’s Fall 2024 show in New York, designer Batsheva Hay put together an entire model lineup that was over the age of 40 through street casting and wrangling her friends. Celebrity hairstylist Justine Marjan, who worked with Tresemme, was then tasked with personalizing each model’s own – often silvery – hair, resulting in a statement-making moment that celebrated going grey.
Hair looks included a gorgeous tight mass of salt-and-pepper curls. A pitch-black ‘do swept into a ponytail highlighted the white strands along one model’s hairline. There were shiny waves with grey roots overtaking blonde highlights.
Batsheva wasn’t the only designer to give age-positive beauty the spotlight this season. At JW Anderson in London, hairstylist Anthony Turner topped half of the models in curly, cropped charcoal and silver wigs, juxtaposing the playful orange-red matte lips that makeup artist Lynsey Alexander created using Merit Beauty. It was no doubt a campy take on the grey hair movement (the models weren’t exactly in the age bracket of those who typically embrace their silver locks) but impactful, nonetheless.
The silver wave also hit the runways at Balmain (several over-50 models strutted down the catwalk in structured trench coats and dresses), Miu Miu (70-year-old Qin Huilan, a Shanghai-based retired doctor turned fashion influencer, was invited by the fashion house via Instagram to walk in Paris), and Thom Browne (’90s supermodel Kristen McMenamy’s waist-length, stark-white mane was braided into a handful of gravity-defying plaits).
“I love that they’re putting [these women] on the runways. I mean, they are likely the ones that can afford these clothes anyway, so show them what you got,” says hairstylist Sarah Amson, co-owner of Bang Salon in Toronto. Today, with the boom of Gen Z- and Alpha-fuelled social media platforms, the fashion and beauty industries often feel even more hurried to attract young people. Boomers, GenXers and, increasingly, digitally savvy Millennials aging into their peak spending power can feel forgotten.
“We do need that visibility so that we can learn to accept ourselves. It gives many people permission and that bravery to join and do what they’ve always wanted to do – go [grey],” Amson says. “The more we see these things – even though they’re so natural – the more we accept them within ourselves and can walk around feeling more confident and beautiful.”
According to Pinterest Canada, from July 2023 to July 2024, searches for “grey blending” spiked 132 per cent, “going grey transition tips” climbed 75 per cent and “silver grey hair” jumped a whopping 258 per cent. Of the many ways to embrace silvering hair, Amson recommends hair colour transitional services that are meant to blend rather than cover. Her favourite is opting for lowlights over highlights. “Most people think to highlight. However, silvering hair is usually cool toned, while highlighted hair, using bleach, will always fade to a warm tone,” she says. “Essentially, what I do is blend the silver roots into darker ends, preventing any harsh line of demarcation. Think of it as sort of adding a little pepper to your salt.”
The haircare industry is adapting to this new, grey-positive normal. Existing products initially marketed toward blonde and light hair, such as purple, deep blue and pearlescent shampoos, now include preserving natural graphite tones in their marketing. “It’s all the same type of care when it comes to fighting brassiness,” Amson says. She’s also noticed more products focused on rebuilding the strength and integrity of white strands.
What’s still missing are grey-hair products catering to different ages. “We see marketing geared toward people 60 and over, however there are people in their 20s who are silvering,” Amson says. “I would love to see the entire age spectrum represented and welcomed.” Perhaps those curly grey wigs at JW Anderson weren’t that much of a stretch after all.
Four products to try
As we age, our hair loses pigment cells – a.k.a. melanocytes – resulting in strands turning silver. And when pigment production runs out of steam, hair follicles become less shiny, strong and smooth, causing a more brittle, drier and rougher texture. These latest haircare heroes help your greys look their best
INTO THE GLOSS
Salon hair-glossing services add eye-popping shine back to lacklustre greys. If you can’t see your stylist every time your hair looks dull, this at-home, plant-based formula works over time to smooth the cuticle for intensely lustrous, soft hair.
OIL SLICK
This revamped formula of Moroccanoil’s signature argan oil-infused conditioning treatment was specially cocktailed for the needs of blonde, lightened and grey hair with violet pigments to enhance cool tones and counteract unwanted brassiness while simultaneously taming unruly frizz.
LOSS PREVENTION
Going grey and thinning hair often happen together due to hormonal shifts. Made with rhubarb root, Japanese berry extract, microalgae and marula oil, this antioxidant-rich, hair-densifying conditioner reduces hair shedding at the root.
STRENGTH TRAINING
Silvering doesn’t mean you have to stop reaching for your favourite heat tools or nix going for chemical styling treatments. This ultra-concentrated hair mask contains five essential amino acids to strengthen hair and repair damage so you can flaunt your hair’s best movement.