Hulu's Love Story had girls far and wide flocking to C.O. Bigelow, a pharmacy in Manhattan's Greenwich Village, with hopes of obtaining the now iconic, '90s plastic tortoise shell headband that CBK frequently wore. This is only one example of fashion and cultural influence that the show has had. Despite Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy being a longstanding fashion icon, the show has a whole new generation of women seeking out oval sunglasses, low-key engagement rings, roll-neck sweaters, camel colored coats and skirts, and now headbands, too. But what if we told you that 2026 being the year of the headband was established before Love Story premiered? And that CBK isn't the only contributor to the trend?
Most recently, Miu Miu's Fall/Winter 2026 show featured models in zig zag headbands popularized in '90s and early 2000's. These headbands were black and made out of thin metal in a zig zag formation and pushed the hair back in a subtle and nostalgic way.
Miu Miu Fall/Winter 2026
Launchmetrics
Miu Miu Fall/Winter 2026
Launchmetrics
The Spring/Summer 2026 runways had a slightly different take on the headband trend. Carolina Herrera's show featured models in thick and puffy satin headbands that felt formal and elevated. Simone Rocha's runway featured headbands with embellishments that coordinated with details on the garments worn.
Carolina Herrera Spring/Summer 2026
Launchmetrics
Simone Rocha Spring/Summer 2026
Launchmetrics
Our favorite stars have co-signed the trend as well. Elle Fanning, for example, channeled '50s femininity in a vintage Balenciaga sheath dress featuring a bow in the middle and a simple and sleek black headband. This pairing proved the timelessness of the trend. Despite Love Story having everyone associating the trend with the 1990s, the trend dates back to the 1920s—and, of course, has existed in different forms and iterations.
instagram.com/erinayanianmonroe
Elsewhere Bella Hadid remains ahead of the trend cycle. Her New Year's day outfit that she wore out and about in Aspen featured a leather jacket, white jeans, and leopard-print bag—the model and entrepreneur accessorized with oval-shaped sunglasses and a black plastic headband. She then wore the same headband and slightly larger oval sunglasses to her Orabella event in Milan. Hadid was essentially channeling CBK before Love Story hit streaming services.
Backgrid/BACKGRID
lagossiptv/ The Daily stardust / BACKGRID
There are a few lessons to takeaway here: the CBK influence will continue for the foreseeable future, head and hair accessories of all forms are really having their moment, and anything that Bella Hadid wears will ultimately become a trend—who has their finger on the pulse more than our favorite it-girl?
