Hannah Moore

The hellish return of the mullet

issue 20 November 2021

The mullet is back in fashion, which is proof that true evil never dies. What’s more, the trend is being driven by public-school boys. I only noticed its return last month, when I attended a local ball in East Sussex frequented by the type of people you’d expect at a local ball in East Sussex. But this year was different. There were 17-year-olds with mullets everywhere. ‘Why? What does it all mean?’ I asked anyone who would listen. We were all baffled.

The mullet has been trending on Instagram and TikTok, supposedly a consequence of 2020’s boredom-induced madness. Rihanna sported a mullet recently as did Cara Delevingne in last year’s Savage X Fenty fashion show. If you’re Rihanna or Cara you can wear anything or nothing — and still look great. This isn’t necessarily true if you’re an oily teen from Sevenoaks.

Why grow a mullet? Vice noted the trend late last year and interviewed a few boarding-school boys to find out what was going on.

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