Red carpet photos are two-dimensional, but real style requires the full 3D experience. Maybe that’s why so many celebrities and their stylists think the best way to wear a fancy necklace is to turn it backward. The styling trick was one of the most noticeable jewelry trends of the 2025 Oscars after building steam at several other awards shows and red carpets. But like many of today’s biggest trends, it has roots in the past.
Several stars decided to deliver their bling straight on with glittering, body-con dresses accessorized with traditional blinding chokers and diamond necklaces (particularly impressive were Selena Gomez’s demure Bvlgari diamonds and the Cartier “Pantheres Versatiles” stunner Zoe Saldaña wore to win her first Oscar). Two stars, Margaret Qualley and Michelle Yeoh, decided to bling out their backs instead of their dresses or décolletage, however.
Qualley picked out a custom Chanel dress in black velvet inspired by a spring 2005 design that Nicole Kidman wore in the brand’s Chanel No. 5 advertisement that same year. And like Kidman, Qualley paired the elegant backless design with a jaw-dropping Chanel High Jewelry necklace.
Yeoh, meanwhile, accented her royal blue Balenciaga dress with a radiant tie-shaped necklace from Boucheron that draped between her shoulder blades.
Especially for dresses with high collars or busy necklines, the styling trick is an easy (and time-tested) way to add some extra je ne sais quois to a red carpet look. Look no further than the light blue JW Anderson number Sabrina Carpenter dressed up with a long Chopard necklace at the 2025 Grammys. The singer’s 50-carat stunner seemingly nodded to Shirley Maclaine’s pearl-adorned backless dress from the 1964 movie What a Way To Go!
As back necklaces pick up in popularity among It girls like Zendaya, Anya-Taylor Joy, and Taylor Russell, it’s important to point out that they’ve been around for quite some time. At the 2013 Oscars, both Anne Hathaway and Jennifer Lawrence wore bijoux in the reverse (Tiffany & Co. and Chopard, respectively). Lawrence once again styled her $2 million Neil Lane necklace in reverse at the 2014 Oscars.
But perhaps the most ardent supporter of a bling-y back is Cate Blanchett. She decorated her stern twice at the 2024 Venice Film Festival—once in a silk dress accented by a re-worn Louis Vuitton High Jewelry necklace which she followed up with an Armani jumpsuit and layers of pearls. Back in 2000, Blanchett had a historic back necklace moment at the 72nd annual Academy Awards. She wore a carved-out Jean Paul Gaultier dress that she and the L.A.-based jewelry designer Cynthia Bach paired with cascading antique jewels.
All these years later, reverse necklaces are still giving new meaning to the phrase “party in the back.”
