The Choker Dominated Coachella Style

The one (neck) ring that ruled them all

The annual Coachella music and arts festival in California, which wraps up April 24, always inspires creative fashion choices among its attendees. But when it comes to accessories at Coachella, a single flourish has dominated for years—the hippie-ish flower crown.

Not so this year. Perusing photos from the fest on social media, it’s clear that the choker necklace—in thick and thin incarnations—has officially usurped the floral headdress as Coachella’s official accessory. Taylor Swift said it best (on Instagram, of course), when she wrote, “I feel like maybe chokers are the new flower crowns?” For sure, T.

The resurgence of ’90s style that’s been percolating for a few years now has finally circled back to the choker—a look that’s swung in and out of style since the 18th century, when women wore red ribbons around their necks to pay homage to those who died at the guillotine during the French Revolution. JCK senior editor Jennifer Heebner noted the return of the trend on the red carpet and in fine jewelry collections here.

It’s a style with loads of potential for jewelers, since chokers can be casual or formal, plain or bejeweled. The trend is currently hot with early fashion adopters (stylists, celebs, and Gen Z high schoolers and college-age women who are copying their favorite celebs on Instragrams). But choker-mania at Coachella proves that the wave has finally reached land.

Here’s how the lovely lassies of Coachella wore their chokers: