Another agreement. I also had to go through all the Hairstyle Design Contest winners when I saw this, because it felt like it had to be a different style, right? But no, this is the only one with any resemblance to the new hairstyle.

The "A new hairstyle inspired by a FFXIV Hairstyle Design Contest" wording, when previous winners have used the phrasing "A winning entry from the FFXIV Hairstyle Design Contest" is then also incredibly damning, and shows some self awareness.

This would be disappointing for any entry, but it seems that the development team does not understand the gravity that this particular hairstyle holds, as a rare and eagerly anticipated textured hairstyle. Even taking the "inspired by" as "maybe they'll release a more faithful version later on" is a bit disheartening, to see that a style with such importance did not take precedent. It truly seems that the team did not understand the relevance of what they were working with, and the principle of that is the most disappointing part here.