Gigi Hadid’s Beach-Ready Braid Is Worthy of a Modern Mermaid

Gigi Haidid in a long braided ponytail and nude makeup.
Photo: Getty Images

As it turns out, the ethereal nature of mermaid hair is just as undeniable when worn swept up. For a jaunt to Rockefeller Center in the company of Michael Kors yesterday, Gigi Hadid demonstrated the drama of an interminable mane, combing her down-to-there baby blonde into a sleek pony defined by its braided tail. In keeping with the day's seaside theme—Hadid's accessories centered on gilded cowrie and puka shells, along with a clammed-up clutch—the supermodel opted for wet-look lengths, her hair so slicked at the crown that the style could have been executed immediately after a deep sea dive. But it was the land-lover’s take on the mermaid tail, reimagined as a thick and tautly woven braid, that served at the moment's most striking element.

At eye- and lip-level, Hadid's makeup palette played off of her buck slip dress, a buff smokey eye and power brows coupled with a swipe of pinkish-nude lipstick. But the look's predominant lesson? Whether worn to sporty or sand-strewn effect, the high-slung plaited ponytail is an enduring summertime statement.

Photo: Getty Images