Rihanna, Pixie Cut
Singer Rihanna arrives at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards at Staples Center on September 6, 2012, in Los Angeles, California

May 7, 2021: Alert: Rihanna’s pixie cut has made its triumphant return to the public. It’s not an understatement to say this is cause for celebration on par with winning a major award. For some background, it’s been nearly a decade since the last time we saw the singer with the cropped cut, and you know what? After the year we had, this feels like the ultimate gift—right in line with the weekend, no less! Cue the champagne.

Everyone’s favorite Bad Gal was spotted last night in Santa Monica at Giorgio Baldi, an Italian restaurant the hitmaker’s regularly photographed at. For the evening out, she rocked a vintage Dior jacket, Hyein Seo crop top, custom Chrome Hearts pants, Versace sunglasses, heels by The Attico, and of course, *the* short haircut. After a few weeks of fashion mullets and braided updos from the Fenty Beauty founder, the pixie is a welcome change-up in her style. Pixie Cut Rihanna™ is this generation’s Halley’s Comet. Check it out below.

The last time Rihanna’s pixie cut made an appearance was in 2012 when she debuted the hairstyle at the VMAs. Her relationship with the pixie cut dates back to 2008 when she won a Grammy Award for “Umbrella” while rocking a piece-y, stylized cut. Her 2012 haircut is similar to the 2021 edition in that they’re both cropped and short, with bangs resembling the 2008 version. We love a hair evolution inspired by the archives! 

In 2019, Rihanna told Interview Magazine that her desire for short hair was rooted in, like all of us, childhood rebellion. “The only thing my mom didn’t let me do was dye my hair black and cut it short,” she told the outlet. “I’d wanted to do that since I was 14, and she was like, ‘No, not having it.'” In all honesty, we’re blessed that she waited until adulthood.