Three nights before the 2025 Met Gala, Ayo Edebiri and her hairstylist Jacob Aaron still hadn’t decided on her final look. 

“It [was] a work in progress, really,” Aaron told Fashionista shortly before the event. “We narrowed it down last week to three looks. We tested which hair look works best. […] We usually don’t do this the day before, but it may even still change.”

So what was the final verdict? A slicked-back sculpted bun that also paid tribute to her heritage.

The bun is a nod to Edebiri’s Nigerian culture, which is known for creating voluminous updos with bold accessories like beads and ribbons, per Aaron. (Her hair also complemented her equally structured Ferragamo dress and leather tailcoat.) Though the final hairstyle came through last-minute, the creative process itself was months in the making.

The duo began planning in February and conducted in-depth research on the theme of Black Dandyism and tailoring: “Ayo, she put me, her makeup artist and her stylist all in a group chat,” Aaron recounted. “We bounced a lot of ideas off one another, looking at photos and references.” Said references included images of Nigerian women with updos; Aaron also looked at hair photos of finger waves, blunt-cut bangs and bobs. 

“[Our references] weren’t really of current [trends],” he noted. “Everything that we looked at was older, but we wanted to interpret the older looks and make it fresh and new and put our own spin on it.”

Though the duo’s inspiration stemmed mainly from Edebiri’s Nigerian culture, the hairstyle could also be seen as a wink to Josephine Baker, who was known for her iconic “Eton Crop” hairstyle, framed by a thin swirl of hair slicked down on her forehead. 

Edebiri herself had a lot of input in the final vision: “She kind of threw over a deck of photos all at me,” Aaron laughed. “I took a little time to take in what she was showing, put together a story of what the photos told, and I bounced back my ideas to her.”

While the updo is unlike anything we’ve seen Edebiri wear before, it’s not quite a departure from her personal beauty style. Aaron described Edebiri’s familiar hair aesthetic as “quirky,” as seen in her usual short cuts and bobs. This look took that quirkiness and exaggerated it by incorporating subtle cornrows beneath, sculptural, slicked-side micro bangs and red and pink beads dispersed throughout the bun. 

With regards to how Aaron created Edebiri’s the intricate look, he employed all OGX products (the brand sponsored the look). He prepped with the brand’s Bond Protein Repair Shampoo and Conditioner, followed by the Bond Protein Repair Heat Protectant Spray to protect her hair from intensive heat styling. To slick it back, mold and set the hair, he used the brand’s Touchable Hold Gel, and then locked in its sleekness with its Bond Protein Repair Sealing Serum. For final touches, Aaron added some additional sheen with a spritz of Bond Protein Repair 3-in-1 Oil Mist. 

“[Her hairstyle] is masculine with a feminine touch,” Aaron concluded. 

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