Dakota Johnson Helped Style Her Own "Quarter-Up" Hairdo
If you’ve been paying close attention to Dakota Johnson’s recent public appearances like we have, you’ve probably clocked that she’s been wearing what is undeniably her signature hairstyle for basically everything: long, loose, smooth, and anchored by those enviable bangs. Milan Fashion Week, the MTV VMAs, the Valentino Vendetta fragrance launch party—it works for every kind of event. So when she arrived at the New York premiere of Verity on September 29 and—gasp—wasn’t wearing her hair entirely down, it felt like a plot twist worthy of her new movie.
Johnson wore a white, two-piece Calvin Klein Collection two-piece ensemble: a shimmering bralette-style top and high-slit column skirt covered in sparkling beads. Stylist Kate Young complemented it with an understated yet dazzling diamond necklace and earrings, creating a look that feels like an opulent, sophisticated, 2026 take on Y2K.
Hairstylist Mark Townsend wanted to give Johnson a look that felt just as shiny as her luminous outfit, but something a little different from her usual straightforward style.
“We used to do a lot of half-up hairstyles, and I felt half-up would be perfect for her Calvin Klein look,” he tells Allure. “It was Dakota’s idea to not do a full half-up by leaving quite a bit of hair down on the sides.” The result is what Townsend is calling a “quarter-up hairdo.”
After blow-drying Johnson’s hair with a medium round brush to create fullness, he used IGK Good Behavior Spirulina Protein Smoothing Spray to fight frizz while running a curling iron over three-inch sections. He then brushed IGK Good Behavior Flexible Anti-Frizz Hairspray through the hair on a flat brush before gathering it up, leaving some of her new face-framing layers out and down.
Once he gathered the hair up, he secured the chignon. Well, actually, it was a joint effort. “I love doing hairstyles like this with Dakota. She will pull her hair on top of her head into a cool shape, and I will secure it with Day Rate Beauty Foundation Pins while she’s still holding it up,” says Townsend, who shared a behind-the-scenes look at his POV while styling Johnson’s hair. “It’s a team collaboration.”
The style brilliantly serves two purposes: keeping just enough hair off her face to help draw the eye to that incredible red lip, while also functioning as a work of hair art—one in which the famous wearer had a hand, literally.
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2 of October 2026
