Move aside, red wine hair, because fall 2022’s newest hair color trend is officially copper red hair. Sorry, I don’t make the rules — Lily James does.
Bidding goodbye to her iconic blonde locks as Pamela Anderson in Hulu’s Pam & Tommy, James graced the 2022 Emmys red carpet on Sept. 12 with — you guessed it — copper red hair. The actress’ sleek hair was pulled back behind her ears and away from her face, and her metallic Versace gown only complemented her fresh hair color. She wore a bronzed, warm makeup look, perfectly completing the look.
Users on Twitter raved over James’ new hair, with one user writing, “Idk who dyes Lily James’ hair but it’s always the hands of an angel,” and another saying, “Lily really said no to blonde hair and I’m 100% here for it!” Some fans are even calling James’ new ‘do “pumpkin spice” hair — which, hey, as a PSL fan, I’m not mad about.
James wasn’t the only celebrity to embrace copper red hair on the red carpet, with Zendaya and Issa Rae also putting their own twist on the coppery look. Why are celebs all over this look, though? Chicago-based hair colorist Lorena M. Valdes accredits it to the hair color’s versatility, telling Glamour that “it’s the perfect way to incorporate shades of copper and caramel to create a natural dimensional look.”
The hair color has been popular beyond Hollywood’s elite, with TikTok creator Kirsten Titus (@pepperonimuffin) recently dyeing her hair a light copper red and debuting the look to her 8 million followers.
Copper red hair has even been trending this year before the 2022 Emmys red carpet, though — celebs like Kendall Jenner, Sydney Sweeney, Barbie Ferreira, and Sophie Turner all pulled off the fiery look this spring. Halle Bailey also debuted copper red hair in the new The Little Mermaid movie trailer.
While anyone can *slay* copper red hair, certain shades may work better for different skin tones. You can go for a warmer copper red hair look like James did, or embrace a cooler-toned shade. There’s a bunch of renditions of the look, from strawberry blonde to golden copper to rose brunette to various shades in between. While finding your exact shade can be a bit tricky (the options are just endless!), searching for inspiration online and reaching out to a professional are both great options.
With copper red hair not going away anytime soon, get ready for this PSL hair era.