Dua Lipa Goes "Back to Her Roots," Literally, With Inky Black Hair

Dua Lipa with dark black hair performing at royal albert hall — (Image credit: Getty Images)

When Dua Lipa isn't touring, she's jet-setting. And when she isn't jet-setting, she's at the salon to test-drive another hair color. The singer has tried everything from cherry cola red to bright, beachy blonde, and now, night-sky black.

Taking the stage for a special concert at London's Royal Albert Hall on Oct. 17, Dua Lipa debuted a vintage corset gown and old Hollywood waves dyed jet-back. Lest anyone assumed the inky color could be a hairpiece like Sabrina Carpenter's rumored wig, the singer quickly shared photos of her second performance outfit—a black matching set dripping in pearl-embellished chains—and close-ups of the new color. "Back to my roots," she captioned the images.

Dua Lipa onstage in London with black hair while wearing a red dress — Dua Lipa debuted noticeably darker hair during a performance at Royal Albert Hall in London on Oct. 17.

Dua Lipa's fresh shade was courtesy of celebrity hair colorist Matt Rez. Working with stylist Peter Lux, the duo crafted a dye job as dark as space, and then curled it into loose waves with a deep side part.

The singer's Radical Optimism beauty era was previously defined by a cherry cola red. That color was the work of hair stylist Ben Gregory, who told Marie Claire earlier this year Dua Lipa wanted her "next chapter" to come with a hair change. "We had this idea of working with red—really loading up the pigment so that when it photographed in the daylight it shined really bright red, but when you’re indoors or on the red carpet it was more like a blood red," Gregory said.

Dua Lipa held on to her vampy red hair through the entire 2024 awards season circuit and her international tour. Now that she's gone back to black, fans have to wonder—is Dua Lipa also preparing for a new musical era?

Dua Lipa wears a black leather corset with lace tights while performing onstage — Dua Lipa kept her cherry cola red hair all the way through her performances in Austin, Texas, last week.

The singer didn't provide any extra information about the motivation for her hair change in her post. She did credit stylist Jahleel Weaver with dreaming up the dramatic corset gown and matching set to emphasize her new color.

If Dua Lipa isn't 'fessing up to an impending musical switch-up, she's at least admitting to keeping tabs on fall hair color trends. Around the same time as her reveal, Kylie Jenner unveiled a gothic black dye job of her own on Instagram. Maybe rich girl blonde isn't the color of the season after all.

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Halie LeSavage is the senior fashion news editor at Marie Claire, leading coverage of runway trends, emerging brands, style-meets-culture analysis, and celebrity style (especially Taylor Swift's). Her reporting ranges from profiles of beloved stylists, to exclusive red carpet interviews in her column, The Close-Up, to The A-List Edit, a newsletter where she tests celeb-approved trends IRL.

Halie has reported on style for eight years. Previously, she held fashion editor roles at Glamour, Morning Brew, and Harper’s Bazaar. She has been cited as a fashion expert in The Cut, CNN, Puck, Reuters, and more. In 2022, she earned the Hearst Spotlight Award for excellence in journalism. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Harvard College. For more, check out her Substack, Reliable Narrator.