After the somewhat staid, some might say safe, territory of awards season the annual Met Gala increasingly marks a wilder, more creative side to Hollywood style and last night, that extended to hair.

Yes, there were the usual acres of requisite honeyed highlights and copious glamorous up’dos, but what we’re referencing is the frankly far out costume department vibe that seemed to swell up from a small but dedicated band of hard core hair creatives.

And they weren’t necessarily the usual suspects. Okay, Lily Allen has form, but Katie Holmes? Who wore a scraped back quiffy up'do to last year's Met Ball. It’s a while since we’ve seen her have fun with her hair – see last night’s bundle of Bo Peep curls as example.

So, could this theatre of hair mark a departure from the identikit awards ‘dos of old? We sincerely hope so. Because if the actresses and musicians we look towards to inject a little entertainment and old school fantasy into the whole red carpet proceedings don’t rise to the challenge, well, that’s a very sad day indeed. This is Hollywood, the land of dreams, after all.

Click the gallery to see the hair mavericks who shook it up on the Met Ball 2014 red carpet.