Why ginger is the new black

Lauren Bravo writes: Auburn. Copper. Flame-haired. Carrot-top. Titian. Marmalade. Or just plain ginger. Whatever you call it, there’s no escaping it right now. Red hair is having a moment.

Such is the audacious nature of the fashion industry that it can commandeer a naturally-occurring ratio involving high levels of pigment pheomelanin and low levels of pigment eumelanin (thanks Wikipedia) and make it a ‘trend’ – it’s sort of weirdly akin to making massive noses fashionable, or declaring that this season, it’s all about people who can roll their tongues. Yar boo sucks to you, non-rollers! But then, as I’ve been hammering home for a few weeks now, fashion is mental. So we must accept and celebrate; and boy, do the redheads deserve it.

As flagrant and unjustified as any other form of colour prejudice, ‘gingerism’ still somehow manages to slip under the net of censorship . In November 2008, a 14-year-old boy was investigated for hate crimes after his ‘Kick a Ginger’ facebook group attracted almost 5000 members, while last December Tesco were forced to stop selling a Christmas card that read “Santa loves all kids. Even the ginger ones” after a furore of complaints from offended customers. It’s about time, then, that a ginger style resurgence tipped the scales the other way.

Of course, there’s a whole host of redheaded role models to turn to for inspiration. In music, red is rapidly becoming the go-to colour to display a bit of individuality in a sea of Pixie Lottealikes. There is no better example than Nicola Roberts, whose swanlike transformation over the last couple of years has been a fantastic tribute to the power of pussy bows and staying pale (see also: Emma Pilsbury, Glee). And for those of us who didn’t climb out of the right gene pool, there’s just as good an impetus to fake it – when Florence Welch took to the stage at the Brits on Tuesday night, she had a nation of mousy women mentally reaching for the Schwarzkopf.

Look too at all the sexy ginger cartoon characters that the world of entertainment has produced over the years. Wilma Flintstone. Daphne from Scooby Doo. Jessica Rabbit. Lois Griffin in Family Guy. Arial in The Little Mermaid. Princess Fiona in Shrek. The colour is synonymous with sass. The blonde girl gets tied to the railway tracks, the redhead is the one who cuts her free and kicks her captor in the balls. From Boudica to Elizabeth I to Anne of Green Gables, the association between flaming follicles and a fiery temperament is ingrained in cultural history. But where blondes and brunettes have for years been shoe-horned into stereotypes – one fun-loving and frivolous, the other sultry and smart – redheads provide an intriguing alternative, characterised most by a passionate unpredictability.

Meanwhile, in the world of fashion titian hair tends to denote otherworldliness – think of Lily Cole’s china doll features, or Karen Elson’s sexy alien aesthetic. Then there’s Grace Coddington, formidable Creative Director of US Vogue and the unassuming star of last year’s documentary The September Issue. As you so often find with those in the very upper echelons of the fashion industry, she dresses as though she doesn’t like clothes – next to Anna Wintour’s pin-neat tailored dresses and cardigans, Coddington’s baggy black shirts and trousers make her look like a ‘before’ on How to Look Good Naked. But her creativity is evident nonetheless; it’s in her hair. A sheet of electric auburn frizz, it is the hair of a Pre-Raphaelite model, not a runway model. And by being quite determinedly anti-fashion, it somehow manages to be the most fashionable hair out there.

You’d be forgiven for thinking that for redheads, the world of style is fraught with potential faux-pas. Don’t wear pink! Don’t wear orange! Steer clear of red lipstick! And blusher! Don’t wear anything too bold, your head is bright enough… but don’t dress all in black either, you’ll look like a secondary school drama teacher. In fact, best just stick to green. Wear as much green as you can get your hands on. But try to avoid looking too much like Christmas. Good luck!

But like any supposed style ‘rule’, these are made to be trampled on. As the former flatmate of three redheaded women, I know they can rock whatever colour they choose to (except maybe yellow – but then no one can wear yellow). As my titian friend Tara puts it, “Being ginger is great, if you’re prepared to stand out. It’s a permanent accessory, a bit like constantly wearing an outlandish hat… Of course, if you get bored you can always put an actual hat on.” Meanwhile, my Australian friend Meg claims the secret to her redhead happiness was learning to stay pale in a country full of mahogany tans. “I got second degree burns one summer when I was 10, and had to face the fact that sunblock was going to be a big part of my life. Once you accept that, you can get on with making the most of being a rarity.”

And there is nothing fashion loves more than a rarity. It’s official – this season, a recessive gene on chromosome 16 is the new black.