There may be many consequences of the recession for the fashion world: much of the dross should be weeded out of our high streets, for example, and designers will probably have to push themselves to their creative limits in the fight to survive. But one wholly unexpected and rather mystifying development is the renaissance of the blonde.

You can’t fail to notice when flicking through the first 12 advertising campaigns of the May issue of American Vogue, that they feature nothing but platinum-haired, blue-eyed goddesses. It’s a similar story on the pages of Grazia, British Elle and French Vogue. In the past few months, model agencies such as Premier and Storm have observed a significant increase in requests for blonde hair-blue eyed (BHBE) models, something that they put down to a fragile economy and grim financial climate.

Advertisers, they claim, no longer want the quirky faces that have dominated the catwalks, billboards and weekly glossies in recent years. Instead, they’re searching for safe, wholesome-looking girls with flaxen manes who will reassure rather than shock the consumer.

“We have definitely experienced a larger than usual demand for the classic rather than the quirky,” says Carole White, founder of Premier Model Management. “In a recession clients won’t stick out their necks, they know what sells and they want to hire models with wideranging appeal. When every penny counts, they’re much more likely to opt for the formula that sells the best.”

The “formula” at Premier is Gabriella Calthorpe, a society beauty turned model, and Dorith Mous (above). At Storm, Sarah Doukas, the managing director (and legendary booker who discovered Kate Moss), says: “If there’s one thing I’ve noticed as the cry of the model bookers’ table, it’s ‘we need more blondes’. That’s partly because it isn’t easy to find a fabulous-looking blonde, as you need someone quite classy looking”.

Only 30 per cent of Storm’s 200 girls are blonde.“ Look at the ads,” Doukas says. “There’s Raquel Zimmermann in Marc Jacobs, Lily Donaldson seems to be in everything, as does Toni Garn (Prada, Fendi and Versace) and Claudia Schiffer is getting a lot of jobs again too. Ultimately, blondes are a safer bet for clients who want to hedge their bets. Plus when we’re constantly surrounded by bad news, that blonde stereotype is zingy and upbeat.”

But why does blonde mean upbeat? And why are we supposed to feel safer/happier/less threatened by the age-old Aryan stereotype?

In mythology and fairytales BHBE characteristics are ascribed to heroines, while their enemies are dark and ugly. Blonde hair also has magic powers: strong enough to use as a rope ladder in Rapunzel and as a powerful aphrodisiac in Pelléas and Mélisande.

The traditional theory, according to Dr Lance Workman, an evolutionary psychologist at Bath Spa University, is that “men in the northern hemisphere were drawn to physical signs of youthfulness because women have a limited period of fertility. Fair or lighter coloured hair is one of these signs because hair darkens the older you become”.

Dr Abigael San, a chartered clinical psychologist, says: “Blonde hair and blue eyes are known for appealing to a lot of tastes, it’s a classically beautiful look. The association with blonde hair goes back to childhood: we associate these characteristics with forces of good, honesty and trust. We’ve recently been deceived by bankers and politicians, so the need to trust is even greater”.

The trend echoes what happened after America’s Depression in the 1930s. Attempting to woo the public back to the cinema, the big studios — MGM, Fox, Warner Brothers — set about producing escapist films. Blondes attracted maximum attention, they proved to be for the good box office, and so began the packaging of the platinum goddess. Close-up the blonde hair didn’t always look that fabulous — peroxide hair often takes on a brassy, straw-like hue and texture — but cameramen found innovative ways of lighting their leading ladies so that they were bathed in radiance and light.

“Celebrities, too,” says Luke Hersheson, the hairstylist “have much more pulling power now. That’s mostly down to advertisers who want to maximise their spend — and celebrities who visit our TV screens are perhaps easier to identify with”.

Dolce & Gabbana is one example of a brand that has jumped on to the blonde celebrity bandwagon. For a company that has nearly always featured sultry, Sicilan, “breasts-a-heaving” sirens, Scarlett Johannsson with her shock of 1940s starlet curls is a departure.

While fashion labels put this shift down to changing trends, Wichy Hassan, the creative director and co-founder of the retailer Miss Sixty, says that he has definitely noticed the blonde comeback. “Models such as Sasha Pivavora [who has strutted the Miss Sixty catwalk] and Anna Vyalitsyna have proved popular as they convey a strong, healthy look.”

Others, however, remain sceptical. Dr Gayle Brewer, another evolutionary psychologist, scoffs at the theory that the BHBE combination is more comforting, although she does say that images of healthy bodies encourage us in turn to thrive. “We also live in a predominantly brunette society — so we are naturally drawn to this look, which is seemingly exotic.”

Angus Monroe, a casting director at AM Casting, agrees that “a blonde is not necessarily any more optimistic than a brunette”. For him it’s simply less risky to choose a more approachable or attainable woman. “Perhaps the image of a woman who is more curvy and facially engaging is what people find reassuring”.

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