This season’s most uplifting accessory: the elevated anklet

We’ve never been more in need of an accessory that represents beachside revelry, and no piece of jewelry semaphores escapism quite like the anklet. The style, so associated with walking barefoot across white sand, has had a sophisticated update for winter, reimagined in this season’s standout metals and accentuated with precious stones.

Supermodel and entrepreneur Rosie Huntington-Whiteley likes to double up her anklets, sporting two chain styles in different sizes on one leg. A luxe and polished take, the pieces tap into 2020’s obsession with chunky links with a decidedly out-of-office élan. Look to Jennifer Fisher, Melissa Joy Manning and Kimberly McDonald for styles that can be stacked together. In a subtle nod to the sea, Polish designer Magda Butrym embellishes her chain anklets with pearls. “The combination will always elevate an outfit,” she says. “Pearls provide an otherwise simple silhouette with flashes of light.” To tap into Butrym’s ’80s-inspired oeuvre, pair her designs with a black mini dress and a pair of lace or polka-dot tights.

Ancient Greek Sandals founders Christina Martini and Nikolas Minoglou began designing anklets to be styled with their summer slides, but quickly noted their night-time versatility. “Pair with a black ballerina pump and immediately you have an evening look,” they say of their designs, which are adorned with coins or sparkling shards of quartz with a Hellenic nod. For a cheat’s take on the trend, look to Miu Miu and Porte & Paire for flat pumps with in-built anklets, and wear with a midi skirt.

The anklet also offers a nostalgic nod to the noughties, an era that came through on the FW20 runways in the form of elegant body-con gowns styled with chic slippers. The style of the era’s ‘surfers and ravers’ inspires Anna Santangelo’s eponymous designs, which are strung from lengths of colorful beads. Stay in step by pairing yours with Bottega Veneta and Mugler’s figure-sculpting pieces.