Whether you are curl-conscious, luscious long-haired or frizzy-frenzied, don't lose your head over what the damp weather is doing to your tresses. Celebrities around the world are taming their tangles into the reinvented braid. Follow and flaunt
Whether you are curl-conscious, luscious long-haired or frizzy-frenzied, don't lose your head over what the damp weather is doing to your tresses. Celebrities around the world are taming their tangles into the reinvented braid. Follow and flaunt
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You probably associate our headline with neatly-tied plaits done up with ribbons that matched your socks; a dreaded norm at most convent schools across the country.
Well, the braid is back, but without the angry discipline accompanying it. In fact, it's now sashaying down catwalks in Milan and Paris as designers choose to reinvent it into an ultra-glam avatar. 
While the all-knowing Wikipedia describes the braid as a complex pattern formed by intertwining three or more strands of hair, fashion enthusiasts are having a lot more fun with it. Hindi film actor Dia Mirza was recently spotted leaving the airportu00a0 wearing simple jeans and a tee, her hair in a casual side plait. She donned a similar hairdo at a recent launch attended by director Karan Johar and a bandwagon of Bollywood celebrities.
Fashion conscious item girl Malaika Arora Khan chose the hassle-free braid when she had to attend a late night do with family last week. Newbies Sonam Kapoor and Sonakshi Sinha weren't far behind, posing for photographers, a shabby braid resting on their shoulder. 
This braided bunch is scattered far and wide, with more variation. Umbrella singer Rihanna wore her long scarlet tresses in a simple English braid for the annual Metropolitan Museum Ball earlier in May in New York while Black Eyed Peas hottie Fergie chose a messy French plait while doing her good deed for the day at the Youth Run for Japan in California in early March. Blake Lively, famous for her role in television series Gossip Girl, wore her blonde locks in a rope braid with a shimmer red outfit for the premier of her latest film The Green Lantern, and hotel heiress Paris Hilton strutted her stuff with a long extended asymmetric plait and a small frontal puff at the Triton show at S ufffdo Paulo Fashion Week in Brazil at the start of the year.
So, who brought the braid back into fashion? "I did," says Mirza, followed by a soft chuckle over the phone. The Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein star explains, "I remember, about a year and a half back, I was late for an event and had no time to blow dry my hair. I decided to tie it up in a braid." The timing does fit the bill, but she continues, "It looked pretty and I thought, maybe I should do this more often. I then started seeing so many other people doing the same. I guess nine out of 10 fashion trends are a flukeu00a0-- you never know what will become stylish the next day." 
Self-styled hippie and celebrity hairdresser Sapna Bhavnani says she doesn't follow fashion trends because they rehash themselves every four seasons. "It's my job to tell my customers what will suit them, so I discourage them from blindly following trends," says Bhavnani, who admits to noticing an increasing number of women on television braiding their hair.
"You have to be comfortable in whatever you dress yourself up in. Indian women have hang-ups about cropping their hair short, and I guess in Mumbai's humidity, the braid does provide a stylish way to beat the heat."
Mirza seconds her. "It is really functional in this horrendous humidity. My hair gets frizzy and wavy. I have had drastically short hair that I have regretted opting for; my comfort zone lies with long hair and so, I prefer to work with it."
Bhavnani recently finished filming a Do-It-Yourself video at her Bandra salon Mad-O-Wot for her YouTube stream, on how to make fashionable fishtail plaits. The video should be up in about a week.
"You can tie a loose side plait that lends itself to a glamorous ensemble or you can tie it at the back of your neck for a plane Jane look," advises Bhavnani.
One half of Delhi-based fashion designer duo Shantanu & Nikhil, Nihkil Mehra says hairstyle plays a critical role while deciding a look that will complement a fashion clothing line. "You have to make sure the hair isn't over the top, otherwise it will take away attention from the clothes. If you have a voluminous hairstyle with a bulky skirt, the attention is drawn to the lips. We decide what aspect of the body we want to highlight and choose hair and make-up accordingly," says Mehra, amidst a last-minute check up on hair and makeup for Delhi's Couture Week that began on Saturday.
Actress Deepika Padukone wore her hair in a chic side braid for the designer duo's S & N Drape Summer/Resort 2011 collection earlier in March.
On the other side of the globe, Manhattan-based Taiwanese American fashion designer Jason Wu took the humble braid to a new level at his Spring Collection 2011 show in late September last year. His designs walked down the runway complemented with heavily detailed braids layered in crowns and doused with ribbons.
The Pronuptia Paris 2011 Bridal Collection held in February went for a natural feel, with white flowing gowns and thick side braids. Later in July, swimwear designer Mara Hoffman had models walk to flashing photographers, dressed in colourful two-piece bikinis and tousled, double-braided hairstyles at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim 2012 show in Miami.
While Mirza is uncertain if her quick-fix hairdo was responsible for kicking off an international movement to warp and wane, she does recall her mother tying two tight braids for her before she went to school everyday.
"I loved it. So fashion trend or not, this only brings back good memories," she says.
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