What happens when a Hollywood heartthrob trades his signature curls for a haircut your uncle wore to a 1985 wedding? If you’re Jacob Elordi, you accidentally start one of the most talked-about hair conversations of the decade. The Australian actor’s turn as Elvis Presley in Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla put a very specific look in front of millions of eyes: short on top, party in the back, and impossible to ignore. The “Jacob Elordi mullet” quickly became more than a film detail. It became a meme, a debate, and a style reference that barbers still hear about.
This piece breaks down where the look came from, why it hit so hard, what it says about men’s hair in the 2020s, and how to decide whether the cut is right for you. No hype, no myth-making, just a clear look at a haircut that refuses to stay in the past.
The Role That Started It All
In September 2023, Priscilla premiered at the Venice Film Festival. The film, based on Priscilla Presley’s memoir, cast Elordi opposite Cailee Spaeny as the King of Rock and Roll. It reached US theaters in late October and early November 2023, and the press cycle around it was relentless.
Elordi’s transformation into Elvis required more than a jumpsuit. It required the hair. The 1950s and 1960s Elvis look was built on height, volume, and a carefully sculpted front. But as the character ages across the film, the styling shifts, and the mullet-style silhouette became part of the visual storytelling. The result was a haircut that read as both period-accurate and strangely modern, which is exactly why it escaped the film and landed in everyday conversation.
It’s worth being precise here: the mullet in Priscilla was a costume choice, not a personal rebrand. But audiences rarely make that distinction. When a young actor with enormous cultural reach wears a polarizing cut on a global press tour, the haircut becomes a headline of its own.
Why the Mullet, of All Things?
The mullet has one of the strangest reputations in hair history. Short at the front and sides, long at the back, it dominated 1970s and 1980s popular culture before becoming a punchline in the 1990s and 2000s. Then something shifted. The 2020s brought a genuine revival, driven by Gen Z’s appetite for irony, nostalgia, and gender-fluid styling.
That context matters for understanding the Elordi moment. He wasn’t wearing the mullet in a vacuum. He was wearing it at a point when the cut had already been creeping back into fashion, especially among younger men who treat “bad taste” as a legitimate aesthetic. The Elordi mullet didn’t invent the revival, but it gave the revival a face, and a very famous one at that.
There’s also a practical angle. The mullet is a low-maintenance shape compared to a tight fade or a structured pompadour. You grow the back, keep the top manageable, and let the contrast do the work. For an actor cycling through roles and photo shoots, that flexibility has real appeal.
The Anatomy of the Cut
If you want to understand why some mullets look intentional and others look accidental, you have to look at the proportions. The Elordi version, as styled for Priscilla, leaned on a few key decisions.
| Section | What It Does | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Front and top | Kept short to medium with texture and lift | Creates the Elvis-style height without looking flat |
| Sides | Tapered but not shaved to the skin | Keeps the silhouette clean and avoids a helmet effect |
| Back | Grown out past the collar with layered ends | Provides the “party” without a blunt, heavy block |
| Transition | Blended at the temples and crown | Separates a styled mullet from a grown-out mistake |
The last row is the one most people get wrong. A mullet lives or dies on how the short and long sections meet. If the transition is abrupt and unblended, the cut looks like neglect. If it’s softened with layers, it looks deliberate.
What Actually Works in Practice
Barbers who field requests for this cut tend to give the same advice, and it’s worth repeating because it saves a lot of regret.
First, bring a photo, but bring the right photo. A red-carpet shot with professional lighting and product is not the same as a Tuesday morning mirror check. Look for candid images that show the cut unstyled. That’s the haircut you’re actually getting.
Second, be honest about your hair type. The mullet is forgiving, but it isn’t universal. Straight, thick hair holds the shape well. Fine hair can look stringy at the back without layers. Tightly coiled textures, including 4c hair, need a barber who understands how shrinkage changes length, because the back will appear much shorter than it measures. A good cut accounts for that from the start.
Third, commit to the grow-out. The back section takes months to reach a useful length, and there’s an awkward middle phase where it just looks unkempt. Many people quit there. The ones who push through get the actual look.
Fourth, learn the difference between styling and over-styling. A little sea salt spray or a light cream is usually enough. Heavy pomade on the back section turns it greasy and clumpy, which is the fastest way to make a mullet look like a bad decision.
The Common Mistakes People Make
The biggest mistake is asking for “the Jacob Elordi mullet” without any specifics. Barbers hear that phrase and have to guess which version you mean: the slicked Priscilla styling, the looser press-tour look, or something in between. Vague requests produce vague results.
The second mistake is cutting the top too short. A mullet needs contrast, but if the top is buzzed down to nothing, the whole thing reads as a rat tail with extra steps. Keep enough length up front to style.
The third mistake is ignoring the neckline. The back should end in a soft, layered edge, not a straight horizontal chop. A blunt cut at the nape looks severe and grows out badly.
The fourth mistake is skipping maintenance entirely. The mullet is low-maintenance, not no-maintenance. A trim every six to eight weeks keeps the shape from collapsing into a shapeless mop.
Why It Became a Cultural Moment
Haircuts become talking points when they carry meaning beyond the mirror. The Elordi mullet did that on several levels at once.
It arrived during a broader reassessment of 1980s and 1990s style. The same era that gave us chunky sneakers, baggy denim, and wired headphones also gave us the mullet, and younger audiences approached all of it with the same playful nostalgia. The cut fit the mood of the moment.
It also played with masculinity. The mullet has historically been coded as blue-collar, Southern, or working-class, and it’s been mocked for exactly that. When a leading man in a prestige film wears one without irony, it loosens the rules a little. That kind of quiet normalization is often more influential than any deliberate trend campaign.
And it was funny. That shouldn’t be dismissed. Part of the reason the look spread so widely online is that people enjoyed arguing about it. A haircut that generates strong opinions generates conversation, and conversation is free publicity.
There’s a spiritual parallel worth noting for anyone who thinks about how small choices signal bigger things. A bold look is a small act of confidence, and confidence is a recurring theme in how people talk about joy and strength. The idea that joy lord my strength nehemiah 8 10 really means something deeper than surface cheerfulness is a reminder that what people wear and how they carry themselves often communicates more than they intend.
The Mullet in the Wider Hair Conversation
The Elordi mullet landed in the middle of a much larger shift in men’s grooming. For most of the 2010s, the dominant look was tight, controlled, and barbered to within an inch of its life: skin fades, sharp partings, heavy product. The 2020s pushed back. Longer hair, softer shapes, and looser styling became normal again.
Within that shift, the mullet sits at the extreme end. It’s the cut that says you’re not trying to look polished. That’s precisely its appeal for people who are tired of the same three haircuts on every red carpet.
It also connects to how men talk about their appearance now. There’s less stigma around admitting you care about your hair, and more willingness to experiment with shapes that would have been a joke a decade ago. The actor’s willingness to wear something divisive, and to talk about it in interviews, fed that change.
For anyone documenting their own hair journey, the mullet is a natural subject. Progress photos, awkward phases, and the final reveal make for good content, and communities like the row show how much people enjoy following along with transformations that take months rather than minutes.
How to Ask for It Without Regret
If you’ve decided to try the cut, the consultation matters more than the clippers. A few practical steps make the difference.
- Book with a barber or stylist who has actually cut a mullet before. Ask directly. Most will tell you the truth.
- Bring two or three photos showing the front, side, and back, ideally from different angles and lighting.
- Say how long you want the back and how short you want the top. Use inches or centimeters, not adjectives.
- Ask for layers through the back so it moves instead of hanging flat.
- Confirm the neckline shape before the cut starts.
- Ask what products the barber recommends for your hair type, and buy only what you’ll actually use.
- Schedule the follow-up trim before you leave the chair.
That last step is the one people skip, and it’s the one that keeps the cut looking intentional three months later.
Who Should Skip It
Honest advice cuts both ways. The mullet isn’t for everyone, and there are situations where it’s a poor fit.
If your workplace has a strict grooming policy, check before you commit. If you’re in the middle of a job search in a conservative field, the timing may be wrong. If your hair grows extremely slowly, the grow-out phase will test your patience more than most. And if you know you’ll hate the awkward middle stage, pick a softer variation, like a shag or a layered bob-length cut, that gives a similar vibe with less commitment.
None of that is a reason to avoid the cut forever. It’s a reason to be deliberate about when you get it.
Conclusion
The Jacob Elordi mullet is a rare thing: a haircut that became a story. It started as a costume choice for a Sofia Coppola film that premiered in Venice in September 2023, and it turned into a reference point for anyone curious about the return of a style that spent decades as a punchline. Whether you love it or find it baffling, it did what the best style moments do. It made people look, argue, and reconsider what they thought they knew about a haircut.
If you’re considering the cut yourself, the formula is simple. Get the proportions right, blend the transition, respect your hair type, and commit to the grow-out. Do that, and you’ll get a mullet that looks like a decision rather than an accident. Skip those steps, and you’ll join a long and honorable tradition of people who asked for a haircut and got a cautionary tale.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Jacob Elordi actually wear a mullet?
Yes. Elordi wore a mullet-style cut for his role as Elvis Presley in Priscilla, Sofia Coppola’s 2023 film. The look was part of the character’s styling and became widely discussed during the film’s press cycle, which included a premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September 2023.
Why did the mullet get so much attention?
Several factors combined. The cut is inherently polarizing, Elordi had enormous visibility at the time, and the 2020s had already seen a broader mullet revival among younger people. A famous actor wearing a controversial haircut during a major press tour created a natural conversation online and in barbershops.
Is the mullet still in style?
The mullet has been part of men’s hair trends through the 2020s, though its popularity varies by region and social circle. It’s best understood as a style that has moved from joke to legitimate option rather than a universal trend. Whether it works for you depends more on your hair type and personal style than on any trend cycle.
What should I tell my barber if I want this haircut?
Be specific. Say how long you want the back, how short you want the top and sides, and ask for layers through the back section so it moves naturally. Bring photos from multiple angles, including candid shots without heavy styling. Ask for a blended transition at the temples rather than an abrupt jump between lengths.
Does a mullet work on curly or coily hair?
It can, but the approach changes. Curly and coily textures shrink significantly, so the back will appear shorter than its actual length. A barber experienced with textured hair will account for shrinkage and cut accordingly. Layering is especially important to prevent the back from looking bulky or shapeless.
How long does it take to grow a mullet?
Most people need several months to grow the back section to a useful length, and the timeline depends heavily on individual hair growth rate. Expect an awkward middle phase where the shape isn’t yet defined. Regular trims to keep the top and sides tidy, while leaving the back alone, make that phase easier to get through.
