The Real Inspiration Behind Dustin’s New Stranger Things Look
Stranger Things Season 5 Volume 1 unveils a transformed Dustin, as Gaten Matarazzo channels Eddie Munson’s legacy through a grief-forged new look meticulously crafted by the hair team—a quiet tribute that keeps his fallen friend’s spirit alive.
Stranger Things 5, Volume 1 is out, and yeah, Dustin looks different. Not in a lazy 80s makeover way either. It reads like grief. Fans clocked it immediately: he is not over Eddie Munson, and the show leans into that with purpose.
What changed, and why it matters
- Dustin keeps the Hellfire Club alive at Hawkins High, even with jocks pushing him to shut it down.
- He basically dresses the part: Hellfire Club T-shirt on repeat and a freshly minted mullet that echoes Eddie.
- He even gets attacked over the new look, but he stays the course.
- The hair isn’t cosplay for cosplay’s sake — it’s a quiet way to carry Eddie with him and show the fallout of Season 4.
The hair plan, straight from the source
Sarah Hindsgaul, the show’s hair designer, told TV Insider this was one of the first things she tackled for Season 5. The goal: mirror Eddie without losing Dustin’s DNA. That meant crafting a mullet that lives somewhere between Eddie’s rocker lines and Dustin’s natural curl pattern.
"I wanted to be as close to Eddie, but with Dustin's signature curl in it."
Hindsgaul describes the look as a deliberate homage — basically a full-on copy Dustin would choose to get as close to Eddie as possible. It’s character-driven, not just a vibe.
"I think it’s a beautiful thing that it’s his way of trying to keep him alive and reminds the world [Eddie] is still here with us."
That sentiment tracks with what we see on screen: the hair and wardrobe aren’t just surface-level choices; they’re the shorthand for everything Dustin can’t say.
Performance meets design
This isn’t only a hair story. Gaten Matarazzo shifts the whole way Dustin moves — the walk, the posture, the energy. Hindsgaul said that when she watched him hit the hallway in full look and performance, it clicked: the transformation worked because the acting and the styling were speaking the same language.
Volume 1 plants the flag on Dustin-as-legacy-bearer. Now we wait to see how the rest of Season 5 digs deeper into that grief and where it takes him next.