Classic Pearls Are Getting a Punk Makeover

2 min read

We’ve officially reached peak pearl. The shiny, luminous gemstone has been a bold focus on the runway for several seasons now, ranging from Vaquera and Simone Rocha to Valentino and Chanel. Stacked, oversized, layered, and reinvented, the humble pearl necklace has moved far away from its former reputation as a sweet hand-me-down from grandma’s jewelry box and transformed into a major modern accessory with personality. While a pearl necklace of the past used to convey a kind of quiet restraint and homogeneous decorum, wearing pearls in 2026 is decidedly different. Pearls today represent a bold take on individuality and personal style. And now, pearls have gone punk.

Mikimoto x Chrome Hearts.

Just take a look at Mikimoto x Chrome Hearts’s recent collaboration. The brand duo teamed up for a second time to release a five-piece collection rendered in luscious 22K yellow gold set with Akoya pearls and diamonds, replete with Chrome Hearts’s signature gothic chic crosses and studs on necklaces, safety pin brooches, and bracelets. The limited-edition pieces are available exclusively at Chrome Hearts flagship stores in Tokyo, London, and New York, and in Mikimoto’s Ginza store.

Likewise, the jewelry designer Melanie Georgacopoulos has been pushing the boundaries of pearls since 2010, and recently created a high jewelry capsule titled “Eclipse,” in which she sandwiched pearls between the edges of dark gunmetal-hued metal cuff bracelets. She often combines the delicate pearl with materials like oxidized sterling silver chains to create epic contrast. Jewelry designers Gaia Repossi and Sophie Bille Brahe, too, have plucked pearls from their natural habitats of beaded necklaces, putting them on modernist rings or lining them up into tiny studded hoop earrings that read as bold rather than demure. Marla Aaron has even launched a service where one can bring their heirloom pearls to be restrung on colorful cords and reinvented with edgy modernist gemstone-studded charm loops.

Designer Vivienne Westwood wearing her pearls, 1990.

Because of their prim connotations, pearls naturally pair well with punk predilections. That’s part of the reason why Vivienne Westwood introduced her subversive take on pearls in her fall 1987 collection. Three years later, she released her infamous Three-Row Pearl Pearl Drop Choker, which is still famous today. One could easily call her the godmother of punk pearls. “There’s nothing more flattering than pearls,” Andreas Kronthaler, creative director of Vivienne Westwood, told ELLE last year. “They play with the whites of your eyes and teeth; pearls really talk to you. And they work on everybody, from young to old, women and men, everyone. You can wear them all the time—it’s one of the few things you can. You can even wear them for breakfast!”

Madonna performing in punk pearls, 1985.

When it comes to punk pearls, it’s also about having an individualistic spirit. Wear them with something you wouldn’t expect, like a leather biker jacket, add your own safety pin charms to your grandma’s strand, or layer piles and piles of them with vintage rosaries à la Madonna during her Like a Virgin era.