‘House of the Dragon’ Inspires Fans to Adopt ‘Blonde Targaryen’ in Real Life

The New York Times

Blood, sex, dragons, betrayal and ice blonde hair.

These are the essential elements that seem to guide much of the plot of “House of the Dragon”, on HBO. Even if you haven’t watched the first season of the “Game of Thrones” spinoff series, which draws to its conclusion this weekend, it’s quite possible that you’ve beheld at least part of the vast array of stunning images from the group of very distinctive characters. , incestuous and shiny blonde hairs that populate the series.

For those uninformed, “House of the Dragon” puts the Targaryens, a noble family capable of riding dragons, at center stage in a story set 172 years before the birth of “Game of Thrones” heroine Daenerys Targaryen, played by Emilia Clarke in “Game of Thrones”.

Daenerys, known as “the mother of dragons”, served as a model for the blonde cast of the new series (we could call her “the mother of blondes”). In the first book in the series on which “Game of Thrones” is based, the author, George RR Martin, describes the Targaryens as possessing “a striking (some say inhuman) beauty, with lilac, indigo or violet eyes, and hair of a silver gold or platinum white”.

Now, with an entire series filled with Targaryens, the specific tone of the “blond Targaryen” may be gaining influence outside of the Seven Kingdoms. This month, Megan Fox debuted a blonde “Targaryen” look on Instagram, trading her usual dark locks for ice blonde locks, and garnered headlines as a result. On TikTok, some fans have been turning to bleach, citing the Targaryen-inspired desire to go platinum blonde, and thousands of others have flirted with this look via a user-created filter.

In the context of the series, “hair plays a very important role,” said Rosalia Culora, one of the people responsible for the hair of “House of the Dragon.” Since the franchise began, hair has served as an important “exposure factor,” she said.

And indeed, fans use characters’ hair as a visual identifier — a map to the characters’ family origins that account for central tensions in the series. On Reddit, users dissect the meaning of characters’ hair colors and fire off plot theories based on the exact shade of each mane.

So, in a world where hair is more than just hair, what exactly is Targaryen blonde? For starters, actors wear wigs.

“It’s not just one color. There are bundles of strands of different colors as part of each wig,” Culora said. She said there is a complex process led by Kevin Alexander, the show’s lead hair designer, with the help of his team of stylists and wig creator Alex Rouse, to make the hair look as natural as possible, and to solve the problems created by the complicated hue of white.

Fans are divided as to the quality of the wigs. On Twitter and elsewhere, there are mixed feelings about the Velaryon family’s silver wigs, whose members are played by black actors. Some fans have also criticized the Targaryens’ wigs, while others admire them (or generally remain indifferent).

Though Culora doesn’t follow the online commentary about the show’s hair, she said that “if people are talking about it and trying to recreate the look, that’s adorable. It means we’re an influence and an inspiration.”

“A PART TIME JOB”

“It’s the most intense virgin blonde you can get,” said Jenna Perry, a colorist specializing in celebrity hair and founder of Jenna Perry Hair. If she had to name the Targaryen blonde, she would go with “winter blonde”.

Perry has transformed the hair of many famous heads, including Bella Hadid and Jennifer Lawrence. At her salon in Manhattan, the team of colorists she leads has seen an increase in men asking for Targaryen-inspired blonde hair in the last month, which she calls an “evolving trend.” But Perry said maintaining this look is expensive.

“Having this hair color is almost a part-time job,” Perry said, adding that the color is a “status symbol.” Depending on factors such as the colorist chosen for the job, hair length and previous color, she said the initial session to dye her hair that color could cost up to $2,000, and require more than eight hours of work. Subsequent visits to the studio to touch up the roots, which are vital to maintaining the illusion of a natural color, could fetch prices in the hundreds of dollars.

Lady Gaga’s hairstylist Frederic Aspiras, who was nominated for an Oscar for his work on “House Gucci,” wrote in an email that he would define the Targaryen color as “super-icy blonde.” He added that “more people are getting this color now through wigs or extensions, because it makes it easier to achieve the desired shade of blonde and less harm to the hair.” He wrote that to opt for this color is to make a “commitment to a glamorous lifestyle”.

“MYTHIC” AND “CULT”

For hairdresser Guido Palau, the blond Targaryen arouses a profusion of visual references: “The Village of the Damned”, a 1960 science fiction film; Marilyn Monroe; Hitchcock’s blondes like Kim Novak; and a general mix between the historical, the futuristic and the extraterrestrial.

Palau said he referenced the “Game of Thrones” style in his work. In a phone interview, he said he would define the Targaryen tone as “Nordic blond” with a “mythical or mystical kind of feeling”. He said there is also a “childish” and “cult” element, adding that “when the hair is so light, it looks a little unreal”.

“I’ve created similar colors for many models in the past,” Palau said, but he emphasized that the style “requires a lot of maintenance” and can be “harmful to the hair.” “If you have the desire to adopt this color, I wouldn’t advise you not to, but keep in mind that it takes a lot of effort and can often damage your hair because all the natural color will be removed.”

Danilo Dixon, responsible for maintaining the perfect platinum blonde of Gwen Stefani’s hair for more than 20 years, stated by email that he would define the tone of the blonde Targaryen as “ice blonde”.

“I think it’s an iconic shade of blonde,” he added. Dixon, noting that the color was used by actresses in the 1940s and 1950s. “And she’s having a new moment with a younger group. It’s being reinterpreted. Noble blondes have been a part of our storybooks for a long time.” .

FANTASY HAIR IN THE REAL WORLD

“I’m not weird, I swear. But I’m definitely a fan,” said Kyleigh Cameron.

Cameron, 26, is a sales director in Charlotte, North Carolina, and one of many “Game of Thrones” fans who dyed her hair Targaryen blonde, lightening it to that highly recognizable hue of whitish blonde. Dyed such a light shade, her hair looks almost like a halo, and it glows in the dark in the videos she posts on TikTok. Cameron bleached her hair at a salon, in a process that took many months.

“At first, when I finally got the white I wanted, it was a little shocking,” she said. But Cameron is happy with the results.

“Not that I believe I’m a Targaryen or anything like that, but it’s certainly fun when you’re able to bring something from your favorite TV show — almost like another universe, because that’s exactly what the show is — home, and can mimic it a little bit in real life,” Cameron said. “There’s a little bit of power in that.”

Lisa Opie, 31, who is an “influencer” in Miami, also said her Targaryen hair inspired her to go platinum blonde this month. Her love affair with blonde hair dates back to the original series, a time when she said she wore platinum blonde wigs in Daenerys’ style. Wigs are a “nice way to balance this look” without the care or risk of damage, she said.

But the emergence of gray hair, which was difficult to hide amidst her previous dark hair, influenced her decision to finally adopt the blonde Targaryen.

“The bleach sure burned my scalp, and it was really painful, which I think is something people don’t talk about,” Opie said. “But I really love my new hair and I definitely don’t regret anything. So please pray for me as I struggle to maintain my new hair and empty my bank account more and more.”