Women's Necklaces & Chokers

Necklaces are jewels designed to decorate the neck, one of the most sensual areas of female body, but they also express the character and identity of a person. Now more than ever, necklaces and chokers communicate all their charm through symbols, precious materials and references to vintage style.

From ancient times to present day: the most fashionable necklaces are inspired by the past

The necklace was created in ancient times to decorate and celebrate the female body through shapes, colors and precious materials. Necklaces, among all the fashion jewels, are those that most fascinating us because they give light and ornament to the neck, an area that has always been considered a point of union between the soul, mind and body. The ancient origins of this jewel inspire also the most modern jewellery designers, who this year propose many models of necklaces inspired by the past.

The most prestigious brands go back very far, bringing on women's fashion catwalks necklaces and chokers inspired even by the Greek and Roman antiquity. Jewels decorated with mythological figures and classical decors, like the pendants with cameo made by Michelangelo and Oscar De La Renta. Or the Medusa’s head that decorate the Versace’s chokers, but also the gilded necklaces decorated with ancient coins by Anissa Kermiche.

Religious and cultural traditions of Middle Ages are interpreted in a decidedly fashionable way in the rosary-style necklaces proposed by Dolce & Gabbana, or by the long antiqued bronze pendant necklaces proposed by Alcozer.

The intricate and rich Baroque motifs inspire the creations of Burberry and Alexander McQueen, which give to their 17th-century-style jewels a touch of modernity with white lacquers and dark moods.

Victorian reminiscences bring to the forefront of catwalks a great protagonist of 19th-century women's fashion, the choker, which to respect its origins should be a simple black ribbon decorated with shining maxi crystals, like in the Ralph Lauren’s fashion shows.

The 20s inspired the long multi-strand necklaces designed by Saint Laurent, while the 30s Art Deco could be found in the chokers decorated with fringes of crystals proposed by both Miu Miu and Gucci.

Ethnic inspiration for 70s style necklaces

In the 70s, for the first time fashion became a global phenomenon, because it opened up to exotic and unknown worlds. Designers explored distant countries with their imagination, inspired by the ethnic traditional jewels of people far from Western culture. Today as then, the most fashionable brands are inspired by ethnic motifs, for necklaces with a bold aesthetic impact. This year among the most popular cultures, there are Native Americans, whose tradition relives into the leather chokers by Twinset, in the fringed Navajo-style necklaces by Calvin Klein and in the long necklaces decorated with feathers proposed by Anna Demeulemeester.

The refined and intricate oriental patterns instead inspire the pendants with ethnic motifs by Etro, those by Natasha Zinko reproducing the Hindu hand symbol, but also the long necklaces designed as ethnic talismans by Saint Laurent. Gucci, instead, brings on catwalk heavy necklaces made of embossed metal and colorful stones, inspired to Asian tradition. While from the islands and the coral reefs of the most exotic resorts, come the ethnic necklaces with shells proposed by Etro and Altuzarra.

Express yourself through the symbolic language of the most fashionable necklaces

Necklaces are not simple decorations to embellish our look, but they also have a deeper meaning. In fact, women from all over the world have always used necklaces to express their identity through colors and symbols representing the most intimate side of their nature. The necklace thus becomes synonym of identity, belonging, expression of woman’s tastes and character. The trendiest jewellery creators transform the necklaces into real lucky amulet, using a universal symbolic language:

• Key-shaped pendants for Alcozer and J.W. Anderson, perfect gift ideas for people we love
• The heart represents love and romance for Chopard and Moschino
• Dolce & Gabbana’s necklaces become real talismans with many good luck charms
• The iconic surreal images proposed by Giambattista Valli invite us to dream and are perfect for art lovers
• References to Surrealism also for the collar necklaces that Schiapparelli decorates with maxi padlocks
• Even the logo of the most famous brands becomes a symbol to represent style and good taste, like in the Balenciaga and Dior’s chokers
• Snake is the tempting animal chosen by Saint Laurent to express the woman’s sensuality
• Tagliatore and Gregio choose the peace symbol for their chain necklaces decorated with zircons and crystals
• Salvatore Ferragamo, instead, proposes women's necklaces inspired by military nametags

Choker, pendant or collar necklace? Choose the perfect model for your style

There are many types of necklace suitable for every taste, that could be combined differently with various outfits.

One of the most common types seen in the latest women's fashion shows is certainly the choker, a necklace that surrounds the woman’s neck in an extremely sensual way, which could be combined with tops and low-cut dresses. The materials used to make this type of model could be many.

Among the most sensual and audacious chokers there are those by John Hardy and Chanel, which choose heavy golden chains, and those by Valentino, which realizes them in leather and decorating with rock-style metal studs. Fendi’s choker necklaces are made with rigid enamelled metal, while Max Mara chooses maxi pearls, Marc Jacobs decorates them with giant flowers and Dsquared2 creates precious chokers intertwining crystal chains with fabric.

The choker is a classic model, but this year is interpreted in an almost sculptural way both by Peter Pilotto, who proposes maxi gold-colored circles to create showy decors, and Roberto Cavalli, who instead gives a decisive and modern touch to his burnished silver necklaces with snake-like scales.

If you love the most avant-garde jewels, there are the Off-White’s large golden chain necklaces and those by Ports 1961, which makes them in wood, while Brunello Cucinelli uses long metal fringes and Paolo Fiorillo Capri prefers fabric.

If instead you are a lover of classy models, you could opt for necklaces decorated with gemstones, like the coral and turquoise ones by Prabal Gurung, Lucos and Bellini.

A very particular model is the breastplate necklace, which Giorgio Armani presents in his fashion show. Using innovative materials such as plexiglass, he creates spectacular necklaces inspired by the underwater world. Being a statement necklace, it should be a good idea to combine it with simple shapes and colors.

Necklaces with pendants are usually longer and perfect to wear over a turtleneck or a jacket. In this case, the protagonists are the pendants, which could have many different shapes.

They could be decorated with variously colored gemstones and crystals as in the models by Ippocampo, being large medallions like those proposed by Saint Laurent, or being decorated with inscriptions and logos like those by Victoria Beckham.