Halloween is just around the corner, and this season, witchy dark romance has never been more on trend. From the black lace gowns that dominated the catwalk (look to Fendi, Saint Laurent and Givenchy) to autumn/winter 2026’s love of all things velvet, we have seen a real renaissance in gothic fashion this season – the most surprising of which is the comeback of one of our favourite Nineties accessories, the velvet choker.
The slightly grungy necklace has been seen everywhere from the catwalk to the red carpet, and makes for a fun update on your party wardrobe, particularly if you’re wanting to give a new lease of life to that Little Black Dress you invested in a few seasons ago.
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Tyra Banks wearing a velvet choker
Championed recently by Daisy Edgar-Jones on her press tour for Sense and Sensibility, the velvet choker is the most unexpected way to make a statement this season. For the London premiere of the film, the actress accessorised her Champagne-hued Vivienne Westwood gown with a show-stopping necklace in the form of a diamond-adorned pendant worn on a velvet choker, which was designed by Frédéric Boucheron and dates back to 1877.
Daisy Edgar-Jones wearing a Boucheron velvet choker
Of course, the piece is a perfect nod to the movie. Edgar-Jones and her stylist, Dani Michelle, have been embracing method dressing on the red carpet as she promotes the film. Elegant corsetry, ruffles, lace and embroidery have all featured, bringing a little Jane Austen romance into 2026.
Also worth a mention is Margot Robbie’s embrace of the velvet choker during her press tour for Wuthering Heights earlier this year. The actress championed the dark romance of the movie with her wardrobe, and the accessory was often the perfect finishing touch. She wore a number of them, but the most memorable was the Lorraine Schwartz Champagne diamond on a red velvet choker that she donned to complement her Chanel gown for the Paris premiere.
Margot Robbie wearing a Lorraine Schwartz velvet choker
While these references are of course historical, the velvet choker is also very reminiscent of a much more recent time – the necklace serves as one of the defining accessories of the 1990s.
Seen on the biggest style icons of the day – including supermodels Tyra Banks, Stephanie Seymour and Naomi Campbell – and embraced by everyone who wanted to inject a little hint of grunge into their wardrobes, the velvet choker was styled with everything from black slip dresses and chunky boots to oversized denim shirts and lace camisoles.
Stephanie Seymour wearing a velvet choker
Today, it is making a comeback and ready to enter your party wardrobe. Our suggestion? Avoid looking too Halloween-y by letting your necklace be the statement alone – simply style with a simple black dress and ballet flats, or wear with a white shirt and some excellent tailored trousers.
The good news is that a number of jewellery brands have bet big on the choker for the coming season – New York-based Mateo’s statement piece features a row of dainty diamonds with a pear-cut 8.14-carat white topaz, which dangles underneath a statement velvet choker. Meanwhile, Jennifer Behr and Loren Stewart have done it with pearls.
Another brand which has embraced the trend is mid-range jewellery favourite Heavenly London with its Velvet Noir necklace, which features the label’s signature east-west marquise diamond beneath a slim gold bar on a matte black velvet choker. Creative director Maddy Sangster said that the Nineties served as her key inspiration for the piece.
“Black velvet chokers will always take me straight back to the Nineties, when every girl who wanted to look a little bit edgy wore one, and that was very much the starting point,” she told us. “I also had Wuthering Heights in my head – that windswept, romantic world where a ribbon of black velvet at the throat said everything.”
A perfect switch in for your usual goldware, a velvet choker will add a little bit of unexpected gothic glamour into your party season wardrobe. “Velvet has a richness and softness that feels every bit as luxurious as a gold chain, and it lets the stone become the jewel,” Sangster adds. “It’s a bit gothic, a bit grunge, and it looks best with a plain white shirt.”
