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Men wearing women’s jewellery? Harry Styles and Marc Jacobs were rocking pearls years ago, and now G-Dragon, A$AP Rocky and Pharrell Williams are revitalising the gender-fluid accessory trend
STORYAnders Modig Davin
- Brands like Dior, Hermès and Versace – and celebrities including Harry Styles, G-Dragon and A$AP Rocky – have all embraced feminine jewellery for men, with this season’s offerings continuing the trend
- Adornments for men were the norm in ancient times, with an 18th century movement dubbed the Great Male Renunciation responsible for men eschewing ‘frivolity’ in favour of more utilitarian aesthetics
Black onyx and mother-of-pearl in an angular white gold setting, sparkling spheres covered with white or black diamonds or – if you really want to stand out – enamelled parrots, frogs or skiing ice bears. The diverse cast of Ronald Abram’s attention-grabbing cufflinks – easily combined with House of Abram’s angular-cut diamond rings – are catering for a growing number of men who enhance their appearance with glittering jewels. And why not? In ancient history, men were more adorned than women.
“There was this Great Male Renunciation around the French Revolution, when men started to pull back and go for a more utilitarian look – they left frivolity behind,” says Victoria Gomelsky, editor-in-chief of JCK magazine, the largest and oldest trade publication for the jewellery industry in the US, founded in 1869.
“But today, anything goes. Men are wearing pearls, diamonds, coloured gems. Perhaps not in a day-to-day look, but you see it increasingly on the red carpet, in music, in sports,” she continues.
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You have probably seen men wearing pearls – pioneered since around 2019 by disruptive style icons like Harry Styles and Marc Jacobs. An important stepping stone for this was the collaboration between Japanese cultured pearl brand Mikimoto and the Paris-based fashion brand founded by Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo, Comme des Garçons.
The collection debuted in 2020, and is still going strong, with punky additions to the 50cm pearl strands including safety pins and spikes. Pearls seem to have a special place in the heart and on the necks of musicians: G-Dragon, Pharrell Williams and A$AP Rocky have all recently been spotted with pearls.
Examples from other contexts include US baseballer Joc Pederson, who sported a pearl strand from Happy Jewelers as far back as September 2021. And this writer recently spotted a billboard by US-based workwear apparel brand Carhartt, where a crouching model in baggy jeans and a work jacket was clutching a pearl strand between his fingers.
So yes, in case you’re still in any doubt, men can wear pearls. But beware: a lot of what is out there are glass or plastic beads with a pearl finish.
Around a decade ago men started wearing leather cord bracelets, and together with an appropriated surfer look the jewellery tended to be masculine – think chunky and military-styled dog tags, leather bracelets and heavy chains.
