When Modernity Meets the Merkin

For those unfamiliar, a merkin is a hairpiece or wig designed to cover the wearer’s genital area. Its origins are somewhat murky, with historians placing its first usage between the 14th and 15th centuries in Europe. During this period, syphilis epidemics and pubic lice were widespread. By wearing a merkin, users could protect themselves, to an extent, from disease. Initially associated with sex workers, merkins were later adopted by women of high society who shaved to avoid lice but still needed to project health and fertility, since pubic hair symbolised both.

Before the creation of synthetic fibres, merkins were made from natural materials such as horsehair, goat hair, and even human hair sourced from corpses. Grave robbing was not just a Gothic plot device but a source of profit. By the 1700s, merkins were increasingly accessorised with ribbons, cloth flowers, and ornate details. Prostitutes, meanwhile, discovered that customers began requesting specific colours and shapes.

Fast forward to the 21st century. Modern medicine has made the merkin medically redundant, but that has not stopped fashion from revisiting one of history’s most taboo accessories. Hair has reappeared as a material beyond the head in recent years. D’heygere introduced hoop earrings made from synthetic extensions, while Charlie Le Mindu created head-to-toe hair looks for Doja Cat’s 2024 Coachella set and Scarlet tour, complete with Victoria’s Secret–style wings crafted from blonde tresses.

But it was John Galliano’s groundbreaking Spring/Summer 2024 Haute Couture collection for Maison Margiela that brought the merkin decisively back into conversation. Galliano cited the voyeuristic work of Hungarian-French photographer Brassaï as inspiration. His 1920s brothel photographs, dimly lit and overexposed, revealed natural curls and intimacy. Galliano’s “painted muses” wore embroidered human hair merkins, attached to silk stockings and glimpsed beneath sheer Victorian gowns, padded and corseted to exaggerate the female form.

Costume designer Holly Waddington also contributed to the revival when she won an Oscar in 2024 for Poor Things. In the film, Emma Stone’s character, Bella Baxter, works in a Parisian brothel where the women wear frilly hot pants with deep V-shaped lacings that left their merkins visible. The choice underlined the film’s central themes of female autonomy, linking the merkin to political struggles over bodily rights from America to Afghanistan.

Fashion analyst Mandy Lee took to TikTok earlier this year to argue that the merkin revival is only a matter of time. “If it was in one of the most impactful shows of 2024, it’s only a matter of time before it trickles down,” she noted, pointing to Julia Fox’s Dilara Findikoglu gown made of gauzy nude fabric layered with long waves of hair, a vision echoing Botticelli’s Birth of Venus. Findikoglu’s Fall 2025 collection, Venus from Chaos, went further, with braided hair dresses, corsets embellished with tresses, and looks featuring red hair placed across breasts and crotch.

This resurgence aligns with fashion’s fascination for lingerie-as-outerwear, led by Miu Miu’s sequined briefs and bras. Could the next layer to peel back be pubic wigs themselves? The idea is not unprecedented. In 1994, Vivienne Westwood sent Carla Bruni down the runway in a fur coat opened to reveal merkin-style matching pants. Westwood’s boldness, often ahead of her time, makes her a lodestar for today’s avant-garde designers.

Now, with Maison Margiela’s use of the merkin acting as a seal of approval, other houses may soon experiment as well. We live in a moment when shock factor, taboo, and political provocation feel central to fashion’s cultural role. All of which suggests we may indeed be on the cusp of a merkin renaissance.