Keke Palmer Sparks 2026 Necklace Revival: Chokers, Pendants, Brushed Gold

When Keke Palmer arrived at the American Black Film Festival Honors on February 16 in a black halter-neck dress and a bedazzled, nape-hugging choker, it crystallized a turn in necklace styling from the previous year’s long cords to compact collars. “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,” observed Marie Claire, and the Keke Palmer moment underscored the A-lister momentum behind the change.

Runways and street style supply a second current: pendant necklaces. “Runway shows from Michael Kors, TWP, and Tory Burch for spring/summer 2026 all included variations of one particular accessories trend that will define 2026: pendant necklaces,” noted Who What Wear, and the look translated to the sidewalk when Bella Hadid was seen during Paris Fashion Week wearing a vintage-looking, gemstone-adorned gold pendant with a slinky cowl-neck top, capri pants and a brown leather jacket. Designers’ pendant variations and shopper-friendly recreations such as the Carmel Necklace and Châteu Treasures Pendant Necklace make pendants both a runway statement and an everyday accessory.

Alongside silhouette shifts, finish and texture are resurfacing as deliberate craft choices. “High-polish gold is still relevant, but it’s being balanced with texture. Soft brushing, gentle ridging and tactile finishes are returning, inspired by vintage and mid-century jewellery but executed in a cleaner, more modern way. These finishes make gold feel warmer and more wearable, less pristine, more lived-in, which aligns with how women actually want to wear their jewellery now,” Sangster told Harper’s Bazaar. That texture appears in pieces like the Jenny Bird Sundra collar textured necklace, the Dinny Hall planished gold necklace, Agmes Astrid and & Other Stories’ sculpted choker, which Harper’s Bazaar highlighted alongside images including Margot Robbie at the Wuthering Heights premiere (photo by Olivia Wong/WireImage, January 28, 2026).

High-jewelry torque and brooch moments are the third strand of 2026’s necklace landscape. Galerie pointed to Zendaya’s substantial diamond-encrusted torque at the 2025 Oscars and Miley Cyrus’s triple-row 18k white and yellow gold necklace at the 2025 Met Gala, both Cartier pieces, as precedents for sculptural collars. On the brooch front, Keri Russell’s Boucheron New Sarpech diamond brooch, pinned with a 6.26-carat emerald to a Tom Ford suit at the 2026 Critics Choice Awards, demonstrates how lapel and hair jewels are crossing over into neck-adjacent statement territory; Galerie also tracked Tiffany’s Bird on a Rock brooch sightings on Jared Leto, Odell Beckham Jr., Jay Z and Jeremy Allen White.

The trend is not limited to haute joaillerie. Glamour’s roundups show accessibility across price points: a Mango Fringed Bead Necklace at $36, the Heaven Mayhem Marlowe Necklace at $140 at Nordstrom, and an Éliou Bodie Necklace on sale for $144 from $180 at Revolve sit alongside higher-priced options such as the Lizzie Fortunato Cortez Necklace at $395. Marie Claire’s product mentions, Alexis Bittar Hinged Metal Collar Necklace, Heaven Mayhem Gaze Choker and the Elsie Necklace, further illustrate how chokers and collars are offered at varying tiers.

Chokers, pendants, textured brushed gold, torques and brooches are arriving in parallel rather than replacing one another. From Keke Palmer’s nape-hugging choker on February 16 to Michael Kors and Tory Burch runway pendants, and from Sangster’s textured-gold prescriptions to Keri Russell’s 6.26-carat emerald brooch, 2026’s necklace story is one of layered options: high-jewelry theatrics and attainable pieces coexist, giving buyers concrete choices tied to specific designers, price points and red-carpet moments.