If 2010 was the year of the statement necklace, 2026 is the year of no necklace at all. At least that was the future foretold on the runways in Milan, Paris, and Copenhagen.
Fashion is in an anti-jewelry phase right now. The Spring 2026 collections suggest we'll soon wear clothing that covers our décolletage and leaves no room for a chain or choker. Even drop earrings will feel out of place. Instead, we’ll turn to fur stoles and silk scarves to satisfy our itch to accessorize. If you want sparkle, you'll get it from a top with beads sewn into the collar—a fashion BOGO: a garment and a necklace for the price of one.
The anti-jewelry trend agenda was the strongest on Prada's most recent spring runway. Co-creative directors Miuccia Prada and Raf Simmons showed smock dresses with collars pre-dotted with shiny, fringed beads and crystal-embellished dirndl-style tops. The designers forwent jewelry entirely, instead complementing looks with pastel opera gloves and plain Jane wire-rim glasses.
Mrs. Prada is widely considered a pioneer of built-in necklaces: She's been incorporating them into her freaky-chic collections since Fall 2004. The look was a hit a decade ago—remember when you topped your business casual blazers with chunky bib necklaces? Prada's impact!—and will be just as popular a decade later. (Maybe it is 2016 again...)
Designers dabbled with the anti-jewelry trend elsewhere during fashion month, presenting pieces and runway stylings that left no room for necklaces. Funnel-neck jackets curled up to the chin on Alaïa, Altuzarra, Mugler, and Khaite's Spring 2026 collections. Bottega Veneta showed intrecciato woven leather bandanas and triple-stacked shirt sandwiches that took up every inch of neck real estate.
More recently, at Copenhagen Fashion Week Fall 2026, brands like Holzweiler and The Garment asked, What if you replaced a pendant necklace with a scarf? The answer is that small, triangle-shaped scarves and long, skinny ones alike work as well as a long chain. And then there was the tiny Danish brand Forza Collective, which upped the no-jewelry ante with wind-blown neckties that defied gravity and hung out around the models' jaws.
Fashion’s no-jewelry era also helps faux fur accessories come alive. In Paris last week, minimalist brand Toteme staged a Fall 2026 runway that featured a jet-black shawl so giant, the look couldn’t even accommodate a pair of stud earrings. Matthieu Blazy also had a great idea of combining two anti-jewelry trends in one at Chanel’s Pre-Fall 2026 show: a black faux-fur scarf draped around the neck and layered over a lady jacket with shiny silver buttons that did the job of a brooch.
This isn’t to say jewelry is dead in 2026. Some of the above shows did sprinkle in a chunky necklace here and there—but even then, they weren't the star of the show. That honor went to whichever piece pulled focus at the neckline, whether it was a stiff stand-collar jacket or an ivory fur stole that made earrings a moot point.
At times, the trend cycle does feel like it’s coasting on reruns. But in 2026, designers remind us that sometimes, the easiest fashion fix comes from swapping out a familiar favorite—that paperclip chain or gold hoops you’ve worn every day for a decade—for something a little fresher.
