Fasten your chain belts, boho jewellery is back

Can you hear the jingle-jangle of chain belts and layered necklaces? After fashion’s long love affair with ’90s minimalism, bohemian style has returned, bringing with it the colourful, clanking beads and tangling mismatched chains that encapsulate the hedonistic spirit of the ’70s.

At the SS24 collections, Burberry piled strings of silver medallions over ruffled one-shoulder dresses, Chanel paired multilayered logo chains with sheer camisoles and Breton tops and Tom Ford complemented plunging necklines with gold lariat necklaces. At Rabanne, creative director Julien Dossena accessorised festival-ready fringed chainmail dresses and gladiator sandals with golden toe rings and cuffs, while Ralph Lauren – a designer whose preppy Americana has often had a bohemian bent – had colourful beaded necklaces that could have been at home in Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s boho-chic wardrobe in 2005.

But it was Chemena Kamali’s debut at Chloé for AW24 that heralded the return of the trend in earnest, with flouncy chiffon maxi dresses, oversized sunglasses and sinuous gold snake jewellery that paid homage to the Chloé girl’s “sense of freedom and undone-ness”, as the designer wrote in her show notes.

“Boho chic is fun, easy, feminine and a tad sexy, while still being relaxed,” says Richard Johnson, Mytheresa’s chief commercial and sustainability officer, who notes an enthusiasm for summer layering. “It’s like a breath of fresh air compared to other trends.” 

Boho chic is like a breath of fresh air compared to other trends

He points to Marie Lichtenberg’s diamond-encrusted locket cord necklaces (from £1,960), which can be worn long or wrapped twice, and Ananya’s beaded Chakra bracelets, which look “divine” when stacked together. Newport Beach-based jeweller Lugano also puts a fresh spin on the trend with turquoise drop earrings accented with sparkling pavé diamonds, while Copenhagen-based designer Orit Elhanati’s black spinel and malachite necklaces similarly channel a laidback vibe.

France’s jewellery maisons are also being drawn to the trend’s carefree spirit. For Dior’s Rose des Vents line, creative director Victoire de Castellane has introduced a three-row sautoir made with yellow, rose and white gold, as well as a bright boho-inflected chain belt embellished with clinking turquoise, malachite and lapis lazuli that can be worn around the waist or transformed into a necklace. Goossens Paris, the Chanel-owned jeweller known for its chunky costume pieces, added talismanic pendants embedded with beads of tiger’s eye and honey-coloured rock crystals that recall the original haute-hippie style of Talitha Getty and Loulou de la Falaise.

Lugano Diamonds gold, diamond and turquoise drop earrings, POA

Marie Lichtenberg gold and sapphire locket, £5,690, mytheresa.com

Cassandra Goad gold Tortilla necklace, £8,230

Boucheron pink-gold and rhodolite garnet Serpent Bohème Two Stone ring, £5,050

Meanwhile, Boucheron’s Serpent Bohème collection – whose teardrop motif, introduced in 1968, subtly evokes a snake’s head – remains as relevant as ever. “We like to fantasise about the past and daydream about decades we haven’t lived through, which are considered ‘the good old times’,” says Boucheron’s creative director Claire Choisne, “and the ’70s, especially, are often seen as an idealised happy place.”

At a time when carefree, unabashed joy might feel in short supply, boho jewellery is alluring. “I have always been a big fan of the style,” says London-based fine jeweller Cassandra Goad, whose gold Persephone bangles, set with coral, turquoise or lapis lazuli beads, are designed to be piled on. Likewise, her Tortilla chain necklace, whose textured discs have been made by pressing corn tortillas into gold sheets, can be worn long or wrapped around the neck. “I find layering and mixing different necklaces and pendants such a playful and refreshing way to express my creativity.”