With all the attention paid to clothes seen at fashion weeks, it can be easy to overlook the handiwork of hairstylists and barbers. But as hair becomes as integral to personal style as clothing, the diversity of eye-catching hairstyles has grown to rival the breadth of apparel and accessories worn by models and people in the street.

The styles at recent shows have been seen before, but some served as a barometer of how far this golden age for hair has come. Futuristic, sculpted looks, for instance, are no longer outliers but part of the tapestry of fashion weeks in New York, London, Milan and Paris. What set many styles apart was the precision seemingly given to cuts, colors and styling techniques.

Some people even managed to make long blond hair — one of the most traditional (and basic) conventions of beauty — look fresh by adding volume, texture or both. And if long blond hair can be made to look exciting, just imagine the lengths achieved by others with big curls, loose waves and closer crops.