Trend Evolution: Runway to Street

Last year, thousands of girls got feather extensions in their hair. The hair trend was so widespread that it caused a plume shortage in fly-fishing shops (where girls originally got hold of their feathers), and salons had to quickly update their menus to fulfill the new style demand. What made feather hair extensions so popular? Who decided that this was the hair trend of the year?

Surprisingly, it’s the same people who decide the trends every year — and not just in the hair department.

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The experts say most trends start the same way. First, on the runway. It can be elaborate, crazy, or borderline unwearable. (For example, Cushnie et Ochs and Gucci both showcased hair feathers on the runway in their Fall 2011 collections.) Next, the trend filters down to the red carpet, with stars using the fad in a more wearable way. (Miley Cyrus, Vanessa Hudgens, and Ke$ha are just a few celebs who took to the feather hair trend.) Finally, it reaches the masses: real girls who take the trend and remake it in their own way. It’s called a trend evolution, and it happens all the time.

To show the trend evolution in action, here are some of the hottest looks happening right now — and how they got their start.