Not Your Mother’s Pearls

The prim and proper pearl has come out of its shell! Karl Lagerfeld, experimenting with size, shape and location, first reinterpreted the granny gem staple with a youthful, edgy twist a few seasons back in womenswear. Miu Miu followed suit with pearl-adorned fuzzy pool slides and models sported pearl chokers in Rihanna’s Fenty x Puma show last spring. Alessandro Michele’s Resort 2018 collection for Gucci dove deeper with clothes and accessories covered in pearls—even adorning the eyebrows and hair of its runway models. Childrenswear designers have also jumped on the pearl trend. Be on the lookout in fall collections for pearl accents head-to-toe, spanning elegant headbands to Mary Jane straps.