Lengthy, navel-grazing cord necklaces were red carpet regulars back in 2025. Now, a choker trend revival has styles worn by Sabrina Carpenter and Jennifer Lawrence shrinking to a quarter of their original size. On February 16, Keke Palmer followed the leads of Charli xcx, Margot Robbie, and more with a bedazzled, nape-hugging necklace that proves the style has A-listers in a chokehold.
Palmer had the honor of presenting Angela Bassett the Excellence in the Arts Award at the American Black Film Festival Honors. Stylist Molly Dickson dressed the former Marie Claire cover star in a classic little black dress, featuring a halter neck and criss-cross back cutouts. Its plunging, U-shaped neckline would've highlighted bust-length diamonds with ease. By choosing the choker trend instead, Palmer cemented the black maxi as a tribute to '90s minimalism.
Not only did the metallic silver choker look nostalgic, it actually debuted on a circa-Fall 1998 Dior runway. Then-creative director John Galliano molded hypoallergenic stainless ruthenium into a series of intertwined triangles and hexagons. 284 black Swarovski crystals decorated its curved, Renaissance gate-inspired contours. Secondhand marketplace 1st Dibs recently sold Palmer's exact necklace for $2,355.
The vintage Dior necklace was undeniably Palmer's statement piece, but diamond-encrusted hoop earrings from Anita Ko complemented its silver hardware. Her trio of Cartier Love Bracelets got the silver memo, too. Altogether, they would've set Palmer back $73,100.
Call it the Wuthering Heights effect, but chokers are frosting the décolletages of every A-lister from here to Australia right now. Just last week, Margot Robbie ended her press run with her seventh choker since Jan. 26. Lorraine Schwartz created the chainmail charcoal and yellow gold necklace from scratch, just as the jeweler did with a velvet version on Feb. 2 in Paris. For the after party, it traded places with a diamond, button-back bracelet from Jessica McCormack, worn as a choker.
Wuthering Heights aside, last week was a big one for the choker trend. On Feb. 8, Kim Kardashian wore a vintage crystal choker from Dior's John Galliano Spring 2004 archives at the 2026 Super Bowl. It sparkled just as much as Jodie Turner-Smith's Bulgari Serpenti choker—including 37 carats of diamonds and emerald eyes—at the Costume Designers Guild Awards on Feb. 12. Two days later, Charli xcx walked the Berlin Film Festival red carpet with the $11,334 Canary Love Heart Choker from Anabela Chan. Over 150 carats of yellow and clear diamonds garnished the double-row design.
If this award season is anything like last year's, expect an uptick in 2026's leading necklace trend—chokers—on future red carpets. Stars like Palmer, Robbie, Charli xcx, and more are setting it up for a full-category sweep at the Academy Awards.
