WTF is a jellyfish haircut and WHY is Gen Z?

There is a big trend going around TikTok and now Hollywood called the “jellyfish” and boy do I have thoughts. 

Every generation has its signature hairstyle and most of the time it’s a pretty big mistake. The 90s had the deeply unflattering “Rachel” the 00s had the damaging “flat iron into oblivion” and the 10s had the dreadful “Karen” as well as that awful “ombre” phase. But Gen Z has taken it to a new level with the Jellyfish. 

The style features a very short bob up top and then a long straight “tail” which resembles the oceanic creature for which it is named. It’s a bit like if a mullet was somehow worse.

Technically, the haircut is derived from a style called “hime” which is a traditional Japanese style of hair that dates back hundreds of years. Many on Twitter have been quick to point out the westernization of the style by calling it “jellyfish” and acting like it’s new is a bit rude. 

However, the hime seems slightly different from the jellyfish and arguably more attractive. The hime focuses on bobbing the front part of the hair, almost akin to bangs, whereas the derived “jellyfish” seems to have a full top bowl cut. 

What might have just been a silly TikTok trendy joke has gone mainstream appearing on Academy Award-winning actress and non-gen Z celebrity, Nicole Kidman in her most recent magazine appearance. Kidman is actually sporting the hime style which was mischaracterized as “jellyfish” but I don’t think that will stop copycats from mistakenly going full jelly. 

What do you think? Are you showing the jellyfish to your barber/stylist?