Let’s get BRAT: a hair how-to featuring Charli xcx’s Laneway wet look curls

It's been less than a year since Charli xcx gifted the world with brat (arguably the album, colour, and word of the summer)—and now she’s sitting pretty with two Grammy wins under her belt and a Valentino Beauty ambassador role to boot. The British phenomenon also headlined the recent Laneway Festival in Auckland, taking to the stage just days after closing out the Grammy Awards and with trademark lengthy curls handling the heat and humidity of one of our steamiest days with aplomb.
Those now undeniably iconic curls kicked off a major Bratty hair trend of their own, and were crafted in collaboration with her stylist, Kiwi super talent Matt Benns, "We decided to ditch the straightening so often and embrace her natural hair," Benns told Byrdie of the Brat hair era, defined by Charli's carefree, natural bouncy curls. "It was all about an attitude, something completely different a little anti," he shared, noting that the "bit of grit" allowed them to lean into a sort of romanticised rawness. "So naturally, an erratic curl pattern fit."

The preternaturally cool Benns has worked with Charli on multiple of her iconic looks – including the Met Gala and her 360 music video - and Laneway was no exception, with the stylist creating the perfect festy-ready style using his favourite ghd tools.

I tapped him for a little insight into how to get Charli’s killer wet-look waves:
1. Prep your freshly washed hair by spritzing it with ghd body goals, before blow-drying with ghd’s helios hair dryer.
2. Take three of ghd’s holy grail curling tongs: the classic curl, classic wave wand and thin wand to create multiple size curls.
3. Take diagonal sections of your hair and twist it around the curling tools in a rope-like fashion, to create a dishevelled, lived in look - different size sections are key when it comes to emphasising this.
4. Use the ghd thin wand to go around your hairline and define the texture of your hair.
5. After you’ve finished curling your whole head, run your fingers through your hair, shaking out the curls.
6. To complete the wet look finish, take a small portion of ghd body goals and ghd sleek talker on your hands and scrunch it into the curls.
7. Finally, apply ghd shiney ever after all over the hair.

So there you have it. Get ready to go forth and you know, brat x