Off Campus' Hairstylist Breaks Down Why Allie Is A Brunette On The Show
Dean’s blonde look had an unexpected effect on her book-to-TV transformation.
Off Campus made a bunch of big changes to Elle Kennedy’s book series — from totally new characters to major storyline twists — but one of the most immediately noticeable alterations is Allie Hayes’ hair. In Kennedy’s novels, Allie has blonde locks that match her love interest Dean Di Laurentis’ golden tresses. However, the Prime Video adaptation transforms Allie into a brunette. Debra Wiebe, the head of the Off Campus hair department, tells Elite Daily that while she did lighten Mika Abdalla’s naturally dark hair with highlights, it was ultimately decided that a full blonde makeover just wouldn’t translate on screen.
“Her skin tones factored into it, because once you start changing those hair colors, the skin tones change,” Wiebe says. To bridge the gap, the hair team started with highlights to break up Abdalla’s solid brunette hair. “We enhanced the color to make it a bit more golden. Her highlights had more of a golden blonde tint, where Stephen [Kalyn]’s was lighter and more pastel.”
Wiebe adds that part of the choice was to differentiate Allie’s hair from Dean’s, revealing that the decision to keep Abdalla’s brunette base was made long before she even joined the production. “Sometimes those conversations go on before I'm in the room. When producers are casting, they put the two actors beside each other and decide on the look,” Wiebe says. “Then we all had a conversation of, ‘Can we lighten her hair just a bit?’”
While Wiebe knew Allie wouldn’t go fully blonde, the highlights served as a nod to the books and a crucial way to make her look stand apart from her bestie Hannah’s solid brown hair.
This desire for visual contrast is also why Wiebe fought to keep Dean’s blonde hair book-accurate. “There were so many men with darker hair. So we wanted some variety. When you see a group shot of the guys, Dean’s hair balances out the room,” Wiebe says. “And, his eyes really pop with the lighter hair. He had nice eyes before, but with that blonde frame they’re like, ‘Wow!’”
