Awards season is, of course, a huge time of year for celebrities, artists, and other entertainment industry professionals. But it’s also a huge time of year for fashion. Red carpets create opportunities for people working in the fashion industry—from designers, to stylists, to trend forecasters, and bloggers—to showcase their art. Our fan-favorite stars serve as the canvas, humbly (and not so humbly) posing for photographers, creating moments that get logged into mood boards, trend predictions, magazine editorials, social media, and more. We learn a lot from red carpets, like what hairstyles are on trend, what textures are in, and what silhouettes we should try. Class was in session at the 2025 Grammy Awards on Sunday, February 2, and we got a lesson on what may be this year’s hottest accessory: headpieces.

This shouldn’t be a surprise at all. Stylish people in big cities have been leaning into headpieces, from nerdy bonnets with cat ears to full on sculptures. Those early adopters, as well as recent runway shows, point to the return of a head accessory. I love this. I feel like every iconic era of fashion had an accompanying iconic headpiece.

Music icons like Alicia Keys (who accepted the the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award at the ceremony) and Janelle Monáe came following that trend, though I have to say that for Monáe, it was less about trends because she has long been wearing headpieces, hats, and sculptures on her head. Newcomers like Chappell Roan and Gracie Abrams were also aligned. Roan wore a feather headpiece from Jean Paul Gaultier’s Spring 2003 couture line, which online fashion fans very swiftly noticed was a look previously worn by Beyoncé in a photo editorial for Elle Magazine. Abrams wore a Chanel bridal gown, featuring a beautiful buttery sheer veil.