Prince Harry’s pendant necklace is no stranger to the headlines.
The humble black string chain was the protagonist of an eviscerating “truth bomb” contained in the 2023 memoir, Spare — cue the perennial line "he [Prince William] grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and he knocked me to the floor,” which echoed across Britain.
Harry whipped out the by-then mended accessory on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert last January, when he divulged the silver charms attached were moulds of his children's heartbeats, a gift from wife Meghan Markle, as well as a Tiger’s eye from a friend in Botswana.
Fast forward to the ritzy premiere of the new Bob Marley film One Love on Sunday night, which saw the Cali-dwelling couple make a surprise appearance in Kingston Jamaica, and sure as you can be that Marley posters still hang on Eton school boy’s bedroom walls, there the necklace hung — centre stage and meeting the island’s Prime Minister, Andrew Holness.
At first glance, the specific style of chain triggers whiplash, noughties gap yah flashbacks. It was about the time the Prince took to wearing it, having travelled to Australia and Lesotho, a small kingdom in South Africa, during his year off in 2003. Come a Twickenham trip in 2004, there it lay under a rugger jumper, and by 2008 he is sporting one topless, kicking a ball about in Afghanistan. Imagine it all set to a Jack Johnson soundtrack, if you can bear.
A version of that necklace hardly ever comes off today. Last year he wore it with black out shades and blazers to watch his Invictus Games; with linen shirts and smiles in Singapore for games of polo; and you can bet it was there, hidden by shirt and slim tie, for his trips to London’s High Court.
But the usually unremarkable necklace's outing in 2024 places the Prince in a fashion-forward gang of boys scouring Paris’ catwalks for new season inspiration. See, for spring summer 2024, the look was a veritable menswear runway staple.
Take Lazoschmidl, the Swedish non-binary brand, who sent out boys in rompers, speedos and micro shorts for their SS24 collection. The running thread? A knotted black, boy scout style necklace, complete with a silver cock ring and hanging crystal pendant.
At Courrèges, the modern iteration of 60s Space Age designer André Courrèges' house which is currently designed by Nicolas Di Felice, rope necklaces clung onto agate slices, paired with hoodies, leather jackets and baggy jeans. And it was at the Dsquared2 show, in Milan, where the ripped models (something of a brand trademark) looked straight off the beach, lashed with pendant chains which came marijuana-leaf shaped, like gold coins, or brandishing a DSQ logo set in gold.
Harry ought to watch out — if the trend powers on, it won’t just be his brother clambering after it.
