Emma Watson's Latest Pixie Haircut Is A Major Harry Potter Throwback

It was 2010 when Emma Watson’s first pixie cut took the world by storm. After filming for all the Harry Potter movies wrapped, Watson underwent a major chop to separate herself from her iconic character, Hermione Granger, and debuted it at the world premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. It was the hair transformation that launched a thousand pixie cuts. (I know because I started getting my own hair cut by Rodney Cutler, the genius behind Watson’s short ‘do, around the same time.) More than decade later, and the 32-year-old actor and activist is at it again. Watson debuted an updated take on her famous pixie cut in the campaign for Prada’s newest fragrance, Prada Paradoxe.

The still images for the Prada Paradoxe campaign show Watson’s pixie cut 2.0 off to great effect, highlighting some subtle wispy layers and face-framing micro-baby bangs, but there’s another factor at play. As the face and muse of Prada Beauty, Watson not only starred in the campaign for its newest fragrance, but also directed the campaign’s short film. While I love an aesthetically heightened arthouse perfume commercial as much as the next person, this one stole a bit of joy from me by calling Watson’s pixie cut into question.

In the film, Watson embodies the essence of the Prada Paradoxe scent in lines of almost-but-not-quite poetry, as is traditional in fragrance-related short films. In some shots, she did this with her pixie cut 2.0 like a warrior poet dedicated to truth, beauty, and cheekbones. However, in other shots, Watson sported the lob that has been her signature hairstyle for a while now. What gives, you ask? As a fan of the pixie cut, especially on Watson, I also have questions.

Based on the short film, there’s no telling if Watson’s pixie cut is a return to her low-maintenance hair era or a really incredible wig. Having been burned by high-end wigs before, thanks to a certain Kardashian-Jenner’s King Kylie era, I’m not about to declare Watson’s haircut an actual haircut, but there are some signs pointing to it possibly being the real deal.

As I mentioned, she’s rocked a similar cut before and loved it. “It's really liberating that I can walk out without thinking about it,” the Beauty And The Beast star told Marie Claire around the time of her big chop. Given that Watson has taken a step back from acting to focus on activism in recent years, it makes sense that she might look for a similarly easy, breezy hairstyle.

While some folks choose wigs to test out a look before committing to an actual cut, Watson has been here, cut that, and it makes sense that she might not hesitate before undergoing what some might consider a radical hair change. She was seen out and about during Paris Fashion Week in July sporting about six more inches of hair than she has in the Prada Paradoxe campaign images. It’s a big jump, but one that Watson has made before.

Whether it’s just a brief moment of pixie excellence courtesy of a sensational wig or a true haircut, I’m over the moon about Watson’s look. While other, edgy hairstyles from days of yore like the mullet have been receiving modern updates, thanks to stars like JoJo Siwa and Demi Lovato, the pixie cut hasn’t necessarily gotten a makeover. Watson’s take feels fresh, fun, and a little daring. You truly love to see it.