Look closely at Wolfgang Tillmans’s 1993 portrait, Suzanne and Lutz, White Dress, Army Skirt, or Steven Klein’s 1994 image of Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss sitting on a grubby kerb in New York’s Meatpacking District – both currently on display at Tate Britain as part of The 90s: Art and Fashion – and you’ll spot a recurring styling trick amid the decade’s idiosyncratic mix of army surplus gear and wispy spaghetti-strap dresses.

The leather cord necklace – DIY, grunge-coded and pared back – was a ’90s fashion staple. Just look at the reams of red-carpet images of Drew Barrymore from that period, or the chokers Demna revisited for his Tom Ford-inflected autumn/winter 2026 debut at Gucci. Today, it largely lives on in holiday wardrobes, strung with shells, weathered pendants and sun-kissed souvenirs, with brands including Dinosaur Designs, Ysso and Agmes offering their own interpretations. But street style from the recent spring/summer 2027 shows suggests its appeal extends well beyond the poolside. Those reluctant to relinquish their out-of-office style are taking it into autumn, pairing leather cord necklaces and torques with crisp shirting and tailoring.

Drew Barrymore making a case for rope necklaces on the red carpet at the 1991 premiere of My Own Private Idaho.

Steve.Granitz

The leather torque making an appearance on the ’90s-inspired Gucci autumn/winter 2026 runway.

“The choker has always been the most democratic ’90s jewel, bringing together the velvet worn by teenagers and diamonds on the red carpet in the same silhouette,” says Maddy Sangster, creative director of Heavenly London. The brand’s Axis necklace – featuring a marquise-cut crystal hanging from a rope choker – is a bestseller.

Increasingly, fine and high jewellers are turning their attention to humble leather and velvet, suspending rare jewels from cord and rope. ByPariah’s Fortuna leather necklace features a tiny carabiner clip crafted from diamond-dusted 14-carat gold, designed to hold the pebble-shaped pendants from its Smoke & Light collection, carved from black onyx, green aventurine and red carnelian. New York jeweller Jade Trau – a recent addition to Liberty’s newly opened Fashion Jewellery Gallery – has launched a leather torque necklace with an 18-carat gold closure, available in navy, espresso, olive and cognac. “Leather felt like a natural place to go because I wanted a material that felt light and comfortable but also something that would age well, like a perfect gold chain,” she says. “It’s been a great way to add a layer of texture and colour to our collection too.”

Leather cord necklace by Jade Trau.

Last summer, Jessica McCormack created a bespoke necklace for her brand’s campaign star and British cover star Zoë Kravitz, suspending a gobstopper of a diamond from a leather cord. The London jeweller had explored similarly unexpected pairings in her 2023 Beaches collection, stringing asymmetric pearl necklaces on knotted lengths of khaki-green and fuchsia thread. But her most inventive interpretation comes in her recent Bows collection, where clusters of lightweight pearls are linked by denim thread to form drop earrings. “Each pearl is individually knotted by hand, which gives the pieces a beautiful fluidity and movement. The real challenge was translating that technique into a knotted bow shape that felt relaxed and organic. We wanted the loops to have a sense of spontaneity and softness, creating a bow that felt effortless rather than overly perfect,” McCormack explains.

Meanwhile, Pomellato’s precious take on the ’90s trend revisits an archival disc-shaped pendant from 1997, reinterpreted in 33 different stone-and-pavé combinations hanging from braided cord. But the most jaw-dropping iteration comes courtesy of James de Givenchy for Taffin, whose necklace has been named Mayfair jeweller Hancocks London’s Jewel of the Month. Created as a private commission in 1996, it features an enormous 28.31-carat old mine cushion-cut diamond, claw-set in platinum and suspended, extremely unconventionally, from a red silk cord. Kate Moss, eat your heart out.