On January 1, 2026, Zohran Mamdani, New York City’s first Muslim and Asian American mayor, will officially be sworn into office. Not long afterward, Mamdani and his wife, artist Rama Duwaji, will move into Gracie Mansion. As a democratic socialist, Mamdani is bound to shake things up — for the better — in the city so nice, they named it twice.
But while hopes are high for what Mamdani will be able to accomplish during his four-year term, at the moment, all eyes are on Duwaji and for good reason: she’s quickly become an “It” girl, thanks to her personal sense of style. At only 28, not only will Duwaji be New York City’s youngest First Lady and the first one from Gen Z, but she’s already the coolest. In fact, the palpability of Duwaji’s cool-girl energy is making her hair, a bixie — a cut that’s part pixie and part bob — the hottest new hair craze. She also did it herself.
“Rama cut her own bangs the morning of Election Day,” hairstylist Xavier Velasquez told Vogue in November 2025. “I was there to help elevate it a little bit without taking away from the fact that she’s an artist who lives in Queens and air-dries her hair … I didn’t want to make her look like a stereotypical politician’s wife.” Although the bixie isn’t a new haircut, the last time it made a big splash as a covetable ‘do was when Princess Diana rocked her sophisticated bixie back in the 1990s. That being said, it’s exciting to see the look come back on someone likely to become an icon in her own right.
How to get Rama Duwaji’s signature ‘bixie’
Similar to the soft pixie, which is longer in the back and was one of the trendiest short hair looks for fall 2025, the bixie is a great way to ease into a shorter look without diving right into a pixie. It gives you more hair to play with, in terms of styling, but still maintains that super-cool vibe of a traditional pixie. It’s also easier to maintain, meaning you don’t need as many trips to the salon to trim up the back, which is often required with a pixie if you want to avoid the mullet stage…