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Louise Thomas
Editor
Zayn Malik’s raw, country-inspired comeback after an eight-year absence from the music scene has excited his fans, but his new hairdo has them torn.
The 31-year-old – known for his punk rocker aesthetic – has seemingly stuck to the same style for years, often sporting a half-shaved haircut, keeping only the top of his head semi-long. However, as the artist embraces this new era of his career with his album Room Under The Stairs, he’s adopting a fresh look – long and burly.
In an August 23 post on Instagram, Malik debuted a new version of himself, prompting his followers to freak out over his unusual look.
The former One Direction member shared a video of him singing the acoustic version of “Shoot At Will” into a red microphone, wearing an unbuttoned cream-colored collar shirt and matching denim. While his outfit may have been cohesively thrown together, his hair was something completely different. Malik donned thick hair and a full beard.
Immediately, fans rushed to the comment section of his video, debating whether they preferred his old hairdo. Perplexed viewers admitted they were shocked his hair grew so quickly.
“Give me the haircare routine cause how tf your hair grows that fast,” one stunned woman wrote. In June, the English vocalist posted a selfie of himself with short, spikey hair, nowhere near as long as it looked in his recent Instagram video.
A pleased supporter commented: “Just ur hairrrrrrrrr cutyyyy.”
“Damn the beard,” a third said, while another called him: “Bear man.”
One Instagram user thought the “vibe” suited him. “That caveman vibe. Zayn saving millions not getting a haircut,” they remarked.
On X, formerly known as Twitter, a confused fan questioned: “Does anybody know why he’s growing out his hair?”
“His hair and beard are soo long,” another X user wrote.
For the most part, Malik’s fashion sense is sinister and playful, experimenting with textures from mesh to fishnet and leather, while keeping to a dark color palette.
Speaking to Alex Cooper on Call Her Daddy in 2023, the father, who shares his daughter Khai with his ex-girlfriend Gigi Hadid, admitted he struggled to find his fashion identity when he was younger.
“Everyone would wear a certain type of pant, or a certain type of shoe, and if you weren’t dressed that way you would get questioned. People would be very in your face and give you s***,” he told Cooper.
“The clothes you want to wear, the way you want to cut your hair — it was always like something was questioned if you weren’t doing the norm,” Malik continued.
