“This cut is a state of mind, a declaration of independence. It carries symbolic weight as an affirmation of self,” declared Damien Hubert, organiser of this event – the first of it’s kind in Europe.
In the little western town of Boussu, Belgium, hundreds of people gathered on the 18th of May to celebrate something of the utmost importance. The mullet.
Thought to be the first festival of the sort in Europe, it was projected to attract up to 1,500 people. However, the whole thing was a generally laid back affair; people knock-backed beers, chatted, and generally had a good time – all while sporting the mullet, of course.
For people willing to brave the mullet (and we say ‘brave’ because even Hubert admits they’re “not sure that many people ever found the cut very attractive,”) free haircuts were offered on-site. However, looking good isn’t even the point. For these people, the mullet represents something greater.
“Today, having a mullet hairstyle allows you to express your own freedom and look beyond appearances,” Hubert told AFP proudly in an interview with them on-site. “It says: here I am, I’m a free thinking individual, I have freed myself from conventions.”
For other festival goers, the cut represents a throwback to simpler times. 31-year old Marie Vandeville grinned while she told reporters why she was getting a mullet.
“It represents the 80s for me,” she confesses. “When I was a kid, I was in love with the US adventure series MacGyver, this is like a return to my childhood.”
However, this is far from the weirdest thing people’ve celebrated. Avocado festivals are in now, apparently.
