Beaded Jewellery Dominates Runways and Street Style This Season

Strings of beads can summon up cute memories - DIY bracelet kits, summer holidays, granny's jewellery box. But they also have deep fashion credentials. Think of Peggy Guggenheim, beaded stones always at her collar bone; Diana Vreeland and her long pearl necklaces mixed with ruby beads and vivid coral; or the forever-cool Tina Chow, opalescent layers cascading over her antique Fortuny gowns.

The necklaces on the Chanel SS26 catwalk harked back to all of these stylish women. Snaking ropes, droopy tassels, sea-urchin spikes and cosmic stone globes in red, black and jade added colour and texture to Matthieu Blazy's already vibrant clothing. On the Tory Burch runway, the models wore chokers made of tiny beads interspersed with metal hardware. This beady look has kicked off a trend. Net-a-Porter reports that customer searches for "beaded earrings" and "long beaded necklaces" were up by 100 per cent between February and March.

"They're very versatile," says Maria Lemos, founder of Mouki Mou on London's Chiltern Street, where you can find glistening gemstone necklaces featuring aquamarines, prehnites, moonstones and opals from Ileana Makri and Anaconda. "Beads can lift a neutral outfit and be layered with gold and other materials."

If you're looking for saturated colour, Completedworks' necklaces and earrings in red agate and green chalcedony are positively juicy; Kismet by Milka's long lapis necklace with feather pendant makes a dramatic statement. Jessica McCormack's new Orbit collection features a one-of-a-kind necklace with a 3.7ct diamond and beads of pearl, emerald, lilac Jadeite, sapphire and coral. Goossens' new pearl necklaces are interspersed with beads of rock crystal, glass and aventurine.

This month, YSSO, the ancient Greece-inspired jewellery brand, has introduced a collection of beads to its gold mainstays: oversized jade and lapis lazuli beads are mixed with bold gold and silver elements. "In a world that's becoming increasingly digital, I find myself drawn more to materials that feel organic, timeless and completely unique," says founder Alexia Karides.