In this year's winter games, Alysa Liu became the first American to win a gold medal in women's single figure skating at the Olympics since 2002.
And by this moment in the competition, she had already begun influencing a new wave of alternative hairstyles.
" I was in tears immediately ... I just felt very inspired and I feel like that's something that we need right now," said Kyson Lindquist, who followed Liu's journey from New York.
Liu gained attention for her distinctive "raccoon" hairstyle — defined by alternating rings of dark and light hair — and for her smiley piercing, which goes through the frenulum in the mouth and can be seen only when smiling. She was also lauded throughout the games for her distinctively relaxed style and joyful attitude.
Liu fan Lindquist decided, in part, to emulate the skater the next time he had his hair done by opting for wide, starburst stripes in a variety of colors.
"Yeah," he told his hairstylist Emmett Palmer, "we're doing the Alysa Liu."
Emily Walters, a hairstylist from Minneapolis, said she's had customers come in specifically requesting hair like Liu's.
And, she says, a few other clients who already had the halo style are getting different attention for it now. " I'm hearing from everybody that the people around them on the street are always saying, 'it reminds me of Alysa Liu's hair,'" Walters said.
Meanwhile Palmer, who specializes in "alternative" hairstyles like stripes, print and other patterns, said that it's exciting to see someone use their hair for self-expression. " I feel like she's showing that hairstyles can reflect personal narratives instead of conforming to expected standards on stage or in sports," they said. " It's storytelling depth. It's blending personal identity with an artistic expression."
Inspired by Liu's boldness, Chicago-based musician Salem Jarrett got wide pink stripes in their hair, done by hair stylist Sophie Walker, as a twist on Liu's bleached stripes. " The field that she's in — that's not typical for people to like look like that. I related to that, 'cause I've been kind of different in spaces my whole life."
Of course, for some people, the hair just looks fun.
Providence Matrisciano, a tattoo artist based in Florida, said that she "just saw it and it looked cool. I'm gonna be so honest." Since she got the style done by alternative hair stylist Mars Bailey, she said she's been stopped everywhere from coffee shops to the sidewalk by people who are Liu fans. "She's got such a cool girl vibe. She does her own thing and I love that."
Halo hair or raccoon hair isn't new — celebrities from Caroline Polachek to Rosalia have had variations on the style. And striped hair was somewhat popular in the early 2000s. But Liu's unique visibility — and that gold medal win — means the stripes are exploding in popularity, and gaining wider acceptance.
Even in places beyond U.S. borders.
Valentina Landro is a hairstylist from Uruguay now living in Buenos Aires. She did an Alysa Liu-inspired style on her friend Pia Grandjean. " I think [Liu's] authenticity is really amazing. I think people really look up to that," Landro said. "[Pia] was honored to have the same hairstyle as someone like that."
Ameya Okamoto is an artist and influencer who had raccoon-style stripes in 2022. When she saw Liu's hair at the Olympics, she said it made her feel both proud and emotional.
As an Asian American, she said that seeing Liu be bold about her style was an important, relatable moment for her.
" I think I got into alternative beauty…because, something about the way that I grew up meant that I really struggled with the feeling of belonging and being seen," she said. " She is carving a space for all the alt girls to like, be like, wait a minute. I can do that and succeed and I can express myself, and still win gold medals."
In the end, Liu's hair is a fashion statement but, evidently, also a symbol of what Liu represents to people. Her distinctive hair is as unusual as her story — after a two-year break from her skating career, Liu returned to the sport with the goal of having more creative control and self-expression. Liu, who has said she has created this hairstyle each year since 2023, adds a stripe, or halo, each time, symbolizing growth like the rings in a tree trunk.
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