How To Wear The Punk-Grunge Jewelry Trend
This season, fine jewelry goes rogue, enjoying a mighty mash-up of safety pins and precious gemstones, diamonds and chunky chains, pearls and crucifixes. So whatever your musical niche, favorite decade or sartorial inclination, it’s time to embrace your inner rock chick/grunge girl/punk princess, says ANNABEL DAVIDSON
Grunge, punk and alt-rock – or any other genre that encapsulates all things dark, distressed and dirty – seem directly at odds with the very concept of fine jewelry…at first. Look closer and you’ll find that every calling card of a grunge or punk style has its fine-jewelry counterpart. An earful of safety pins? Look to Anita Ko and her precious-metal versions with colorful gemstones. Fancy a beaded choker that you could rock with a plaid shirt? Rainbow K’s black agate and diamond number will do the trick. Feel like paying homage to Drew Barrymore in her Poison Ivy era? Mateo has the perfect little diamond crucifix to work that vibe for you.
The origins of grunge are almost always credited to a certain Seattle-based band (looking at you, Nirvana), but fine jewelry wasn’t a big thing for the band members back then (who remembers the late Kurt Cobain’s necklace made up of what looked like Ken-doll heads?). What we did see, however, was alt-rock band Hole’s Courtney Love in an ironic tiara, paired with mini dresses, greasy hair and smudged lipstick. You might not want to go that far, but Garrard’s ‘Beatrice’ tiara would be a nod to the look, as would a good vintage-looking pendant like Storrow’s blue-enameled ‘Eleanor’ design.
Authentic grunge girls weren’t afraid of pretty things, but they studiously contrasted them with the style’s other hallmark – a generally dishevelled appearance. Think Sophie Bille Brahe’s pearl necklace with a plaid shirt (back on the style agenda after Kate Moss slinked down Bottega Veneta’s SS23 runway wearing one), a Shay diamond rivière necklace and Doc Martens, Suzanne Kalan hoop earrings and an artfully distressed Acne Studios sweater… It’s all about balance.
For punk, it’s the color black that really gives fine jewelry the edge. Maria Tash’s ‘Mohawk’ hoop earring does double duty with black moissanite and spikes, while Eéra even manages to make pearls look punk by teaming them with a black PVD-coated chain. Carolina Bucci has blackened the gold in her uber-luxe ‘K.I.S.S.’ bracelet, whereas Retrouvaí has used that blackest of hardstones, onyx, in its gorgeously oversized ‘Puzzle’ pendant.
Moving away from all-out punk towards a ’90s vibe is the high choker. Yeprem’s blackened diamond and white-gold choker is ultra-precious, while Sydney Evan’s sweet sapphire-beaded number is a low-key take on the style that would look perfect with a faded band T-shirt. Any choker that sits halfway up the neck is always going to recall that particular ’90s style encapsulated by heavy black eyeliner and ripped fishnet tights, so Diane Kordas’ leather choker – even though it comes in rose gold and is bedecked with delicate rows of diamonds – has to be added to the list.
And, finally, chains. They’ve never gone out of style, but the grunge look can always be elevated with chunky chains, especially by brands such as Foundrae, perfectly jumbled-up and mismatched; Anita Ko, for multiple fine layers; and Eéra, for elegant irreverence.
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