DAVID BECKHAM HAIR LEXICON

09.10.23

David Beckham by David LaChapelle for GQ Magazine, 2002

By Tara Young

You may not have watched a game of football in your life but there's no doubt you've watched or are planning to watch David Beckham's hyped-up Netflix Doco "Beckham", an inside look into his public private life, his relationship with Victoria (the real reason we tuned in), but mostly exploring his rise to football stardom, with a side of brand deals and nostalgic fuzzies. It is a classic rise, fall, rise, fall, rise, rise, rise story and we couldn't look away.

Thanks to his football-obsessed dad, football practice started when he was a toddler. He began his official career in the early 90s at Manchester United where he spent more than two decades, before getting sold to Real Madrid, making an unexpected move to LA Galaxy, then to AC Milan, and on to Paris Saint-Germain before retiring in 2013.

Navigating major success, football, fashion, fame, and of course, being a humble family man means David Beckham's rise to the top wasn't without major drams, overzealous paparazzi, and red cards but throughout it all, he's always been a bit of a style icon. Just think back to the hairstyles of your schoolmates in the late 90s and 2000s; buzz cuts and mohawks, you can thank David for that. Let's take a look at his life in looks:

1984
East London lad, David Robert Joseph Beckham age 9

Floppy hair on the field. David in 1993.

1995
Quintessential 90s boy hair

1997
Fresh-faced, wet-look hair. 1997 was the year of the wide tie. It was also the year he met teen queen, Posh Spice.

Cute couple hairstyles and that controversial sarong (as featured in Beckham) during the World Cup in France, 1998.

An all black look with a (kind of) chic bandana... could this be a quiet luxury moment? I'm going to go out on a whim and say that 1999 is by far the best year of fashion in our lexicon throwbacks

Better together ♥️ David and Victoria at a Versace party wearing stiff Gucci leathers, 1999.

Told you 1999 was a huge year! When 2 become 1. Posh and Becks memorable purple wedding looks, thrones not pictured.

A sweet father-son moment in 2000. David with baby Brooklyn, and his spiky gelled hair.

2000
There's a lot going on here... I don't know where to start.

2001
Shaved head, Nokia brick and shady shades. I Kiss Football!

The mohawk no one liked apart from every school-age boy circa 2001. "I walked into the changing room and he hadn't seen it because I was too scared to even show him. I'd gone into training the day before with a beanie on, had dinner, beanie on. Then as I got ready for the game I took it off, he said 'go and shave it off'."

2002
The iconic zig-zag headband. Y2K has us shook.

A mohawk with spiked, frosted tips for the FIFA World Cup finals in Japan, 2002

2003
First, let's point out the double t-shirt, a 2000s badboy special. Secondly, the tortoiseshell headband, a timeless accessory, and last but not least the cut eyebrow caused by Sir Alex Ferguson launching a boot at his face from across the room for dropping some F-bombs.

Is this 2003 or 2023? Just kidding, no one wears v-neck t-shirts anymore. Note the double pony though.

Beck's lob era, with golden highlights to really bring out the diamonds in his ears.

2004
Nothing says early 2000s like a buzz cut and rosary bead stack. Spotted with Posh, who's striking streaks and popping red lip are also a sign of the times.

Beachy highlights, texture and volume. Is that a side part?

"So, I had my C-section, and I remember lying there. I don't feel at my most gorgeous, let's just say, I remember someone showing me the front page of the newspaper, which was a gorgeous picture of David between Jennifer Lopez and Beyoncé. And the headline was, 'What would Posh say?'"

"Let me tell you what Posh would say. Posh was pissed off!"