HEADER IMAGE Mars
PHOTOGRAPHY El Hogg
HAIR & CREATIVE DIRECTION Jemima Bradley
PRODUCTION & WORDS Madeline Reid
The perpetual appeal of the mullet has been well documented for centuries, with style supporters as far back as the Greek Gods and as recent as Rihanna and Lil Nas X. Known for its unruly lengths, and undeniably strong side-profile, we no longer need to celebrate or fear the mullet’s impending disappearance or resurgence again – this time, it’s here to stay.
While the cut can be traced back through history across the globe, its reputation as a rebellious rejection of convention came from pop-culture stars’ adoption of the ’do, from mainstream hitmakers Billy Ray Cyrus and Bon Jovi to queer and fashion icons like Prince, Joan Jett and David Bowie, whose flowing flame-haired locks were synonymous with his boundary-breaking Ziggy Stardust persona.
It’s not only the cut’s history that accounts for its cyclical popularity. Today, the hairstyle holds many associations with a variety of groups, from Australian sports jocks to London’s art school cliches, from butch lesbian communities to Mexico’s Cholombianos. As we surpass the cut’s latest popularity spike, it seems that, rather than the haircut’s status as a definitive marker of identity, its appeal now lies in its fluid nature, sitting at a midpoint between long and short, masculine and feminine, tasteful and tacky.
Transforming the hair of London’s stylish rebels, Jemima Bradley – AKA @mulletbabyy – committed to shearing mullets long before the cut’s most recent, TikTok-induced revival. For Jem, moving to London at a young age and connecting with queer communities first inspired her commitment to the cut. “Through my work, I found connections and friendship,” she shares. “I could make every day of my work highly creative, it was an aspect of hairdressing I hadn’t really thought about until moving to London and it was exciting.”
Jem explains that as the style has evolved to new heights, shapes and textures, so has her perspective on haircutting. “The evolution of the mullet within fashion has definitely developed and tested my skills over the past few years,” she explains. “I now see hair as a form of sculpture rather than only geometric. When combining both aspects of sculpture and geometry to a mullet, you can create a wearable artwork that continues to evolve into something new as it grows.”
“The ever-evolving construction of a mullet and its growth journey is really inspiring to me right now, and it’s definitely pushed my work to new levels,” Jem continues. She says the latest experimental requests she’s been receiving include “crazy rat tails, asymmetrical fringes and disconnections.” She says, “The creative side of hairdressing has really been pushing boundaries recently and clients are asking for conceptual ideas over your usual haircut references, and as a stylist I make that work for their hair and everyday life.”
For Jem, the haircut has become an integral way to connect with young queer and trans people figuring out their identity and finding themselves in radical experimentation. “I have such an amazing and interesting clientele – so many people from different walks of life, so many different types of creatives and of different ages,” she says. “People in media, fashion, music, the arts, film, photography, tech and politics – just to name a few.”
For BRICKS’ The Age Issue, we document the diversity of modern mullets and celebrate the uniqueness of those who wear them.
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