Actor Dakota Johnson may have been on the set of her forthcoming film Materialists when she was snapped in New York this week, but we couldn’t not applaud that effortless plait. Enough to make us briefly stop talking about the bob—AKA the cut of the season—Johnson’s braid is a lesson in how to keep cool in the city when the temperature rises.
Loosely pulled together, this undone style is the polar opposite of the Kournikova Braid we’ve seen recently on stars such as Zendaya. The key is in the positioning at the low point on the head, where the braid starts. “This informs the way the rest of the hair falls and gives the style this undone feel,” explains hairstylist Adam Reed. “Johnson’s soft, curtain fringe also gives it a relaxed feel and perfectly frames the rest of her face, which is nice when you’re wearing your hair back.”
Reed explains that loose braids like Dakota’s (we saw similar on Meghan Markle on her visit to Nigeria recently, too) requires texture, to give the plait the un-styled, effortless feel that makes it so appealing.
“Spritz a texturizing spray into hair—ideally not freshly washed—to give it extra body and then pull hair loosely into a classic plait.”
Dakota Mayi Johnson (born October 4, 1989) is an American actress. The daughter of actors Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith, she made her film debut at age ten with a minor role in Crazay in Alabama (1999), directed by her then-stepfather Antonio Banderas, and also starring her mother. After graduating from high school, she began auditioning for roles in Los Angeles and was cast in a minor part in The Social Network (2010). Johnson had her breakthrough playing the lead role of Anastasia Steele in the erotic Fifty Shades film series (2015–2018). In 2016, she received a BAFTA Rising Star Award nomination and was featured in a Forbes 30 under 30 list.[1]
Her profile grew with roles in the crime drama Black Mass (2015), the drama A Bigger Splash (2015), the romantic comedy How To Be Singer (2016), the horror film Suspiria (2018), the thriller Bad time at the El Royale (2018), the coming-of-age film The peanut butter falcon (2019), the psychological drama The lost daughter (2021), and the romantic drama Cha Cha Cha Real Smooth (2022). She also produced the last of these under her company TeaTime Pictures. Johnson has since played the title role in Madame Web (2024).