If you’ve been anywhere near the internet in the last couple of months, chances are you’ve seen a certain grey, zip-up sweatshirt, fastened together by three blown-up pastel hair clips. Beata Rydbacken’s big clip hoodie may have entered the canon of viral It-items, but its inception was a lot more ordinary than its oddball appearance suggests. “I asked my friend if he could 3D print me a giant hair clip,” the Stockholm-based designer tells me, as if that’s a perfectly normal thing to ask a friend. “I wanted one, and he knows how to 3D print things.”

The distended hair accessory was originally conceived as a standalone item, but then, later the same day, Rydbacken was trying on a jacket that she was making, and in place of a zipper that was yet to be sewn on, she used one of the giant hair clips to fasten the garment in place. “Then my boyfriend Otis walked in and suggested making two openings in the jacket for the clip to sit in properly, and that’s how it all began.”

Since then, the hoodies went viral on Instagram and TikTok, dispersed by aggregator accounts and fashion commentators – and you can see why. The bold colours and conspicuous design are perfect for catching the algorithm’s attention, while the clips are both new and nostalgic – their familiarity reminds us of Claire’s Accessories in the early 00s, or getting ready for primary school, while their dramatic size brings a fresh dimension to those memories. Elsewhere, the rest of Rydbacken’s garments also capture the fleeting bliss of a simpler youth, with colourful buttons fastened onto slouchy pink beanies, giant ‘B’ zippers on white tank tops, and maxi skirts made from grey sweatpant material.

Below, we catch up with the Swedish designer about using hair as a medium in her garment-making, the custom hat she made for Rosalía, and almost dressing Zara Larsson for Coachella 2026.

Hey Beata – first of all, what’s your background in fashion?

Beata Rydbacken: I used to help out at a seamstress atelier when I was younger, which is where I learned most of what I know about sewing. I did try studying fashion, but it wasn’t really for me. After that, I just started making things in my room.

How did it feel to have Rosalía wear your designs, and how did that collaboration come about?

Beata Rydbacken: Rosalía’s stylist Jose Carayol emailed me one day asking to borrow one of the hats made out of hair. Weeks later, someone DM’d me ‘is this you LOL’ with a paparazzi photo of Rosalía wearing it. I was very happy and shocked!

Jose is so talented and open-minded – I feel most people probably wouldn’t have given that hat a chance, but he did, and styled it so perfectly. I recently finished making another custom baroque-themed hair hat for Rosalía’s Lux tour. My mum [CEO of Beata Rydbacken] flew to Barcelona to deliver it.

Unusually styled hair is part of your design language, from your schairf [hair scarf] to the Rosalía hair hat. Where does that obsession come from?

Beata Rydbacken: I like to approach hair the same way you would any other material, like fur or wool. It’s already such an integral part of a look, and of fashion itself, so it feels natural to push it further and turn it into something more tangible, almost like garments. Thinking of hairstyles as accessories feels fun to me – a braid can become a scarf, a messy bun can be a pom-pom on a hat. I find myself getting so nostalgic about certain hairstyles. I guess hair really does hold memories.

How would you describe your design style?

Beata Rydbacken: I think over time I’ve started seeing my designs as inventions in a way, instead of garments. I want them to be something that makes people go ‘Oh my god, why did I not think of that?’ I want them to be simple, but genius.

What’s next for the brand?

Beata Rydbacken: I’m very excited to turn this into something bigger and realer. I can’t wait to make more clothes, dress more people, get a studio, maybe even an accountant. The list goes on.

Now for some pop quiz questions… Which celebrity are you dying to dress?

Beata Rydbacken: I think Adéla or Lexee Smith – I just love girls who can dance 

You encounter a hostile alien race, and fashion is their only mechanism for communication. What would you make them to inspire them to spare you and the rest of the human race?

Beata Rydbacken: One of the hair pieces since they might not have hair of their own.

Send the most recent picture/screenshot on your camera roll.

Beata Rydbacken: The FedEx tracking of Zara Larsson’s Coachella outfit that got stuck in US customs and still is. I’ve cried.

You’re trapped in a lift with your celebrity crush – who is it, and what are you wearing?

Beata Rydbacken: It’s Justin Bieber, and I’m wearing a purple big clip hoodie with white clips.

You wake up tomorrow, and the fashion industry has disappeared. What are you retraining as?

Beata Rydbacken: I want this to happen so I can become a veterinarian.

What’s the most ran-through item in your wardrobe?

Beata Rydbacken: My Uggs.

Any secret styling hacks?

Beata Rydbacken: The prettiest thing you can wear is a smile.

Head here to shop the big clip hoodie plus all of Rydbacken’s collections