The History Behind the Trend: claw clips reclaim their popularity

Claw clips were initially introduced into the fashion industry in the 1980s by businessman, Chrisitan Potut. He drafted the idea one day when he continuously crossed and uncrossed his fingers (Borges 2022). His fidgeting sparked an innovation to his current business of combs and clips, combining both items to create an evolutionary product. His creation, known as the claw clip, was made of two comb-like structures and a spring. Together, these pieces created a clasp around one’s hair and held it in place. Potut’s intention for claw clips was very versatile and inclusive. He intended for his design to be used on various hair types, if not all hair types (Borges 2022). While his invention was quite popular when first released, it grew tremendously in popularity in the mid-90s.

Image Source: Pinterest, posted by @Ines 'beige claw clip', image edited by McKenna Osborne

Infographic Source: Canva, created by McKenna Osborne

Trended in the 90s

The 1990s introduced many staple trends. Various accessories, including claw clips, claimed their spot in iconic 90s fashion. Claw clips grew to popularity for the simplicity behind the accessory. It was a simple, inexpensive way to hold one’s hair back while also sporting a very chic look. The media also boosted the popularity of claw clips. Friends, a television series produced by NBC, featured various 90s trends within each character’s personal style. Rachel Green, one of the six characters featured in the show, could be seen wearing claw clips throughout various seasons. Monica Geller and Phoebe Buffay, two other characters on the show, could be seen wearing claw clips as well. For a show based in the 90s, they focused a lot of their attention on fashion and style trends of the time. While Friends was initially popular when it was first released in 1994, it’s popularity has yet to decrease as time goes on due to younger generations. While Friends remained popular among various generations, the use and demand of claw clips slowly declined.?

Image Source: Pinterest, posted by Dania Meri, image edited by McKenna Osborne

COVID Resurfaces Popular Trend

The untimely pandemic may have salvaged the claw clip trend. While 90s and Y2K fashion slowly made their way back into current generational trends, claw clips were on the tail-end of making a return. However, COVID helped boost the popularity of these comb-styled clips. During the isolation period of the pandemic when trips to the salon were not a possibility, claw clips were seen as a necessity to maintain one’s hair (Murden 2022). Especially in a workplace setting, instead of worrying about a bad hair day, all one needed to do was throw their hair into a claw clip. Now that there is no longer a need to shelter-in-place, the claw clip trend has stuck with us and continues to grow in popularity. Claw clips have also promoted the concept of heatless hairstyles and draw attention to the importance of hair health. Claw clips have also reclaimed their fame in the media, specifically social media. Various celebrities, social media influencers, and content creators have admitted to following this recurring 90s trend. On TikTok, an application focused on creating and posting 1-minute videos, some content creators have posted a wide range of hairstyling videos that involve the use of claw clips, which only draws more and more attention and popularity.

High-Fashion’s Take on This Simplistic Trend

Claw clips have made such a return that high-fashion companies, such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus, have released their own renditions of this infamous hair clip. However, these high-fashion claw clips seem to fail at recognizing the intent behind the clip. The initial concept of the claw clip was to be cost-efficient, and promote low-maintenance and simplicity. Claw clips can be purchased at a variety of stores at a variety of prices, so why would a consumer with a small disposable income look towards luxury for a hair accessory?

The Future of Claw Clips

Personally, I think claw clips are here to stay for the time being. While they initially came back into the spotlight with Y2K fashion, they have adapted to numerous other trends and current aesthetics as well. One in particular being the “clean girl aesthetic”, which consists of minimalistic makeup and resembles the “off-duty model” look. Claw clips will continue to adapt to change over-time. However, due to the pandemic they have been deemed too essential to a person’s daily-needs to fall out of style once more.

References

Borges, A. (2022, November 2). ‘My dad, the claw hair clip inventor’. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-63401869.?

Murden, K. (2022, July 22). Hair Claw Clips Are Back! Here Are Our Favorites. Vogue. https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/best-hair-clips.?