British court wigs are not worn because modern lawyers need fake hair. They survive because legal clothing became a uniform: a way to make the courtroom feel formal, impersonal, and tied to precedent.
The short version
Wigs became fashionable in Britain in the seventeenth century, then became part of legal dress. Over time, the fashion disappeared from everyday life but remained in parts of the courtroom.
What the wig does symbolically
A court wig removes some personal style from the advocate. It says: this person is appearing in a professional role, under rules, inside an institution older than today's argument.
Do they still wear them?
Sometimes. Court dress has changed, and wigs are not used in every court or every kind of case. Criminal courts and ceremonial settings are more likely to preserve the tradition than many modern civil or family proceedings.
Bottom line
British lawyers and judges wear wigs because a fashion became a legal uniform, and the uniform still carries signals of seriousness, anonymity, and tradition.