Is Harry Styles Channeling ‘Star Wars’ With New Twist?

The boys of One Direction have never been shy about keeping their hair fresh, sharp, and cutting edge — with Harry Styles’ signature wave of curls no exception to the five-man line-up of well-maintained locks. Styles’ newest “man braid” look might not be a permanent one, but it would be interesting to see Harry pick up it up in the long run — though it might not be very comfortable for Harry’s sweaty, sold-out performances with One Direction.

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It’s no surprise that Styles is going for a more restrained look based some previous complaints he’s made out the longer style. Harry has said that his signature bushy mane is a nuisance in the past, telling Very magazine that it was actually his least favorite feature.

“Probably my hair… Ah, it’s hard because it’s kind of my favorite and my least favorite. I really like it, but sometimes it gets in the way, especially when I’m running.”

Styles’ man-braid look was put together by celebrity hair stylist and beautician Lou Teasdale. Teasdale is the primary groomer for Harry and the rest of the One Direction guys — constantly sending out waves of One Direction goodies on social media for those who can’t get enough of seeing Styles’ iconic hair evolve. Lou proudly posted Harry’s twisted braid on her Twitter, apologizing, perhaps sarcastically, a few hours later — though it appears the fan response on social media was largely positive.

I'm really soz about his hair

— Lou Teasdale (@louteasdale) October 4, 2014

One Direction duties are keeping Harry and the rest of the boys quite busy. According to various tidbits from Styles’ and the rest of One Direction’s social media, the boy band has wrapped shooting on a video for the lead single from their new album Four. Last week, Harry and his friends finally released the hotly anticipated official audio for the track.

Little is known about the video’s concept, though Harry’s bandmate Louis Tomlinson was photographed carrying a large monkey around set. Nothing has been released showing Styles with animals on set, but fans are curious about what kind of animal theme might be in the new video.

LOUIS WITH A MONKEY AT THE SMG VIDEO SHOOT TODAY pic.twitter.com/ONqBeJPUHI

— 1D Updates (@1DMofosUpdates) October 1, 2014

Of course, outside of One Direction’s devoted fan base, there’s more at play than Harry’s changes in hair style. Haley Williams of Paramore recently attacked the group for copying the intro to her boyfriend Chad Gilbert’s song “It’s Not Your Fault” with his band New Found Glory. Styles and the rest of One Direction have not yet answered back to any of the accusations, although it seems that even Gilbert has backed down after suffering the slew of hatred that came from Harry’s devotees.

.@onedirection Your fans spew the most racist/homophobic/sexist hate I have ever seen on the Internet… You have a platform to change that.

— Chad Gilbert (@XChadballX) September 30, 2014

You can listen to the comparison video that Haley Williams posted to decide for yourself if you think Harry Styles and the boys plagiarized New Found Glory’s song.

[Images via Instagram and Twitter]