When Tems walked out onto the Coachella stage to join Justin Bieber, it wasn't just a surprise performance. It was a masterclass in jewellery. Over a black sequin corset, the Nigerian singer layered a structured pearl choker with a long V-shaped pearl rope. The effect was electric.
Back to the Belle Époque
The look stopped people mid-scroll. But for those who know their pearl history, there was something deeply familiar about it. The high choker rising to the jaw, paired with a longer rope falling to the décolletage.
This is a silhouette straight from the Belle Époque, that golden period between 1871 and 1914 when pearl jewellery sat at the very centre of fashion and feminine power. Portraits from the era are full of it. Women in structured bodices, necks encased in pearl colliers de chien, a longer strand crossing below.
What makes Tems' version so arresting is the contrast. The structured choker against a strapless sequin top. All in a festival setting rather than a grand salon. It shouldn't work but it absolutely does.
“I was so inspired to have seen Tems at the Coachella 2026 concert,” says Chrissie Douglas from Coleman Douglas Pearls. “The high choker that she was wearing looked fabulous, especially with this wonderful V necklace that she had with it,”.
What makes a layered choker work
From a pearl perspective, what Tems chose to wear is worth examining closely. The structured choker functions as a collarette. This design that predates elasticated strands and relies on the weight and architecture of the piece itself to sit correctly.
“In order to wear these high chokers which literally went from the base of the neck right up to the top, they either had to be sewn onto the neckline of a dress or they had to be held up with metal struts – exactly like the choker that Tems was wearing,” explains Chrissie.
Paired with a longer rope in a V-drop, the layering creates contrast between restraint and movement, rigidity and flow. Both layers are likely freshwater or Akoya pearls. The round, high-lustre Akoya has always been the choker pearl of choice with its near mirror-like surface catching light cleanly at close quarters. Against dark fabric (especially sequined black) that lustre becomes almost theatrical.
The pairing of a high choker with a longer drop is also a lesson in proportion. The choker anchors the eye at the throat, while the V-rope draws it down and elongates the neckline. It’s a look that works precisely because the two pieces are doing different things.
Related: What Are The Different Types of Pearl Necklaces?
A design with a history of its own
Chrissie Douglas knows this silhouette intimately. In 1994, inspired by those same Belle Époque portraits, she created the Titania Choker. The structured piece had a detachable lower section, the design equivalent of Tems' two-tier look.
The following year it was featured by Lucia van der Post in the Financial Times' How to Spend It. That found its way onto the inspiration board of John Galliano for his debut Dior couture collection. It then became the celebrated Maasai collection, which drew from fashion traditions across the world. The choker was one of its central elements.
"This choker appears in various guises throughout fashion and throughout time, and I suspect it will carry on doing so for a wee while," adds Chrissie.
Find your own festival pearl
At Coleman Douglas Pearls, Chrissie has been creating layered pearl looks of exactly this kind for over thirty years. Jewellery is chosen to work with both skin tone and silhouette – and crafted by hand in her London atelier.
If Tems' Coachella moment has left you thinking about layering pearls yourself, there’s no better starting point than a conversation with someone who has been doing it since before Galliano was cutting his first Dior toile.
To explore pearl chokers, layering and occasion dressing, book a personal consultation today.
