Alysa Liu triggers new trend as KATSEYE member takes clear inspiration from figure skater's signature look

Alysa Liu is a trendsetter in more ways than one. The gold medal winning figure skater wore her hair in a halo-style to the 2026 Winter Olympics, alternating between deep brunette and platinum blonde.

And it seems that the hairstyle is the hottest new spring trend. Megan Mei-Yok Skiendiel of KATSEYE debuted the halo hairstyle recently, taking inspiration from Alysa.

In a recent Instagram post looking into KATSEYE'S newest album PINKY UP, Megan posed with pink and brunette halos, and fans definitely noticed. One fan commented: "Megan's hair reminds me of Alysa Liu."

© Instagram

Other fans wrote: "Alysa Liu hair," and "Alysa Liu style." While Megan hasn't commented on if she was specifically inspired by Alysa, the Olympian's reach is hard to ignore.

What does Alysa Liu's hairstyle mean?

While Alysa was in St. Louis, Missouri for the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in January 2026, she decided to improve upon her specific look. In 2024, the figure skater first began adding halos to her hair, but she wanted it to be brighter for her appearance at the Olympics.

© NurPhoto via Getty Images

Hairstylist Kelsey Miller at Salon 13th, who specializes in dimensional hair color, created the now iconic look, alternating rings of dark brunette and platinum blonde. She explained to Allure in February 2026: "It was fun to shake it up and do something I don't typically do."

Alysa explained in a recent TikTok that she was inspired by rings on tree trunks, saying: "I just wanted to be a tree." In a February 2026 interview with NBC, Alysa detailed her plans to continue her hairstyle.

"Every year, I add a stripe," she explained. "It's going to be like this for a year, then—next wintertime, end of December—I do another ring."

To achieve the look, Alysa's hairstylist painted directly onto her hair without any foils. The process took five hours, but the figure skater couldn't be happier with the outcome.

© Getty Images for USOPC

Why is Alysa's hairstyle groundbreaking?

Alysa is a very different figure skater than those of Olympics past. From inspiring KATSEYE members to skating to "Stateside" by PinkPantheress, she is groundbreaking in many ways.

When Alysa returned to skating after a two-year break, she "made a deal" with her coaches.

"No one tells me how my hair is gonna be, and no one's gonna try to change me," Alysa told Cosmopolitan. "If [judges and higher-ups] tell me to dye my hair back, I will quit. If I change my hair, it's gonna be because I wanted to."

© Getty Images

Aside from her daring hair, Alysa also has a frenulum piercing, a piercing in the thin tissue connecting the lip to the gum. The skater, who did the piercing herself, calls it her "smiley."

"I had my sister hold up my lip, and I was looking in the mirror and I had my piercing needle and then, yeah, I just put it through," she told TMJ4, adding: "Someone called my style 'alternative' and I'd agree with that."