Julia Fox wears her hair and not much else to Oscars after-party

It’s safe to say that Julia Fox is pretty fearless when it comes to her fashion and beauty choices; she’s never one to shy away from a bleached brow, clown make-up or being straight up choked by her own dress. Last night was no different. The actress, muse and #1 hustler turned up at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in a sheer dress that preserved her modesty only thanks to the long mermaid hair that curled across, down and around her body.

Evoking the Birth of Venus and Eve in the Garden of Eden, with a touch of Lady Godiva thrown in, the gauzy dress was created by Dilara Findikoglu for her SS23 collection. Fox paired it with long, loose hair that reached down her back by hairstylist John Novotny, while make-up artist Kennedy kept the face minimal with neutral tones on the eyes and lips. The overall look was one of a siren who has emerged from the depths of the ocean to sit on a rock and lure sailors to their watery deaths.

The look brought several different trends together. There was the mermaidcore beauty trend that was popular towards the end of 2022 and saw make-up looks like siren eyes, wet dishevelled hair and shimmering iridescent skin. Hair as a fashion accessory has also been a Victorian-era trend that has emerged back into the spotlight over the last year thanks to items like Schiaparelli’s hair tie and Simone Rocha’s hair earrings. At Coachella last year, Charlie Le Mindu created over 20 of his signature monstrous hair costumes for Doja Cat and her dancers, while at Maison Margiela’s SS24 Couture show merkins were created using human hair embroidered onto silk tulle. Findikoglu herself has used hair in many of her collections, including the most recent one,`Venus from Chaos’, where it was braided into dresses, embellished corsets and covered the nipples of more than one model.

While the hair that sweeps around Fox’s body likely is meant to appear as if it is stemming from her head, you can’t help but feel that the look also plays into a celebration of body hair gone wild, a trend which is slowly emerging into the zeitgeist thanks to some full bush moments on TikTok that have gone viral and exhibitions like Motherland which got creative with pubic hair. As a champion of unconventional beauty and a hater of the patriarchy, it seems safe to suggest that a full bush might be territory that Fox would be unafraid to venture into and celebrate.