Calico is the fastest growing beauty trend in 2024

The trend for animal-inspired hairstyles continues to grow. Following the success of the wolf cut, butterfly cut, jellyfish cut and kitty cut, the latest style is the calico, which puts the cat among the pigeons.

According to Pinterest’s Summer 2024 Trend Report, searches for the calico trend have increased by 6,500% this year, with more insiders jumping on the rebellious hairstyle. Here’s what you need to know about the trend.

What is a calico cat?

Inspired by the unique coloring of calico cats, this hair trend blends red, brunette, and blonde hair colors to create an edgy, highly individual look.

Why choose calico?

The rebellious hair trend has been making a comeback in the past few years, with celebs like Billie Eilish and Miley Cyrus leading the way. When Miley brought back her ’70s shag look in 2020, people were skeptical, but since then, the style has gone mainstream, with offshoots like the wolf cut and layered cuts like Rachel’s leading the trend.

Calico is likely to have the same impact on color trends, with more extreme styles expected to pop up — essentially a beefed-up version of the bold highlights of the 2000s (which Pinterest’s Summer 2024 trend report also saw a 5,400% increase in searches).

How do you style a calico cat’s coat?

You can go overboard with high-contrast red, brunette, and blonde stripes, but we expect to see softer takes, too. Miley Cyrus (always a pioneer) showed off a softer rendition of the trend on the cover of W Mag. In one photo, she appears to have warm, chunky ’00s highlights, while in another, we see more pronounced highlights in her bangs and around her face. And instead of going for contrast, she kept each shade pretty close, swapping fire engine red for an amber auburn, dark brunette for a medium toffee, and bleached highlights for honey tones.