Wednesday's Rave'N Dance Hair Was Inspired By This British It Girl

For someone who prefers to sharpen hatchets instead of bury them, Wednesday Addams has an impeccable (albeit twisted) sense of style; one that #beautyTok is trying to emulate. Her soft goth glam makeup is a total serve, her fashion is equal parts spooky and chic, and her braid tutorials — including Wednesday’s Rave’N dance hair — have upwards of 7.7 million views on TikTok. But Jenna Ortega’s dark alter ego didn’t achieve her enviable looks all on her own. You can thank her stylist. And a British icon.

According to Tara McDonald, the hair and makeup designer for Netflix’s Wednesday, she and director Tim Burton discussed the ways in which they could differentiate Ortega’s Wednesday from Christina Ricci’s Wednesday, a role she originated in the classic 1991 film The Addams Family. Since the 20-year-old star came to set with “sort of grown-out bangs,” McDonald tells Elite Daily they chose to lean into the bangs, but cut them shorter to make the character’s overall look more contemporary.

McDonald also opted to keep the side pieces of Ortega’s bangs. “It’s known as a French fringe, where it comes around and curls her out to highlight her cheekbones,” she says. “It gave her sort of an edgier, cooler, sort of more modern look.”

Though Wednesday maintains her traditional pigtail braids (which were extensions, BTW) throughout a majority of the show’s first season, there was one standout hair moment, not-so-coincidentally weaved into the most standout (aka viral) scene: Wednesday’s Rave’N dance crown braid. “That's a look that I just adore, and I wanted to get it in [the show] somehow,” McDonald says of her “favorite hairstyle.” The dance was her opportunity.

“When I saw the dress as well, the whole thing was important,” she adds. “It needed to complement the dress. You needed to see the dress.” So an off-the-shoulder hairstyle was a must.

Since the style was still meant for deadpan, no-frills Wednesday Addams, it was also important for her ‘do to not to look too neat. “By pulling the little bits of hair down, it just gave her a more relaxed, ‘I don't care, I'm not trying too hard’ sort of look,” McDonald says.

But why the crown braid? Why not a more simple updo? “There's a British It girl called Alexa Chung and she wore it a couple of times,” says McDonald. “I remember seeing it on her and thinking it was so effortless.”

McDonald’s not the only one who thought so. The TV presenter was known for her effortlessly cool, boho style throughout the 2000s, turning crown braids from a go-to for young schoolgirls — which Wednesday would hate, given her aversion to being called “little girl” — to a fashion statement that inspired a generation. Giving Wednesday the same effortless vibe as Chung is just *chef’s kiss*.