One of the latest hair trends we have noticed all over New York and L.A. is the “undercut” (not to be confused with the boxing move of the same name), so named because the stylist will lift up the top of the hair and cut or shave the sides and back of the head underneath. You can see the look on hipsters, rockers, trendy ladies, and edgier celebs like Rihanna and P!nk. Super scary Lisbeth Salander, the main character in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, played by Noomi Rapace in the Swedish version, sports a particularly dark variety of undercut. There is even a tumblr account devoted explicitly to the look. We first noticed the look in the late 80’s on Mike Patton from the band Faith No More (Now we’re dating ourselves).

Perhaps the hottest – and most buzzed about – example of someone sporting this cut is Kate Lanphear, current Style Director for Elle magazine in the US. She’s going with a blonde, sideswept undercut that might be the coolest hair on the planet right now.

One of the reasons why we like the undercut is that it shows an open-minded attitude towards punk style that has traditionally been isolated to rock & roll.

Style Director for Elle magazine Kate Lanphear