Fashion has fallen in love with the heart again this summer. The 2023 catwalks featured love hearts in every possible form: on dresses at Victoria Beckham and Rixo, on jacket lapels and hats at Moschino.
While the teeny-tiny heart bra tops from Nensi Dojaka and Vivetta are unlikely to be a high street hit, heart-shaped accessories are proving popular at the cheaper end of the market too.
Though it has reached its zenith this season, the vogue for hearts has been swelling up for a while.
“Gucci’s Aria collection in 2021 featured an anatomical heart clutch,” says Natasha Bird, an executive editor at Elle magazine. And Chanel’s spring ’22 quilted flap bags were heart shapes – something Vivienne Westwood was doing for years with her heart-shaped crossbody bags.”
The Alaïa Le Coeur bag has also been a monster hit, and affordable copies of it are plentiful in high street shops such as Zara.
“We see our customers engaging with heart details in categories such as jewellery and bags for a super-personal touch,” says Liane Wiggins, head of womenswear at the fashion retailer Matches.
Heart-shaped jewellery has also appeared on various trendsetting television shows in the last year.
Lily Collins wore a blood-red Vanrycke charm in the show Emily in Paris and Sarah Jessica Parker sported a spiked heart pendant by Marlo Laz in And Just Like That. The hit show – a sequel to Sex and the City – returns at the end of this month.
The teen drama Euphoria helped revive the classic Tiffany & Co heart-shaped necklace recently too.
The “Return to Tiffany” silver heart – so called because of the message inscribed on its reverse – was an evocative part of 90s and 00s fashion, popularised by the film Legally Blonde and becoming a beloved accessory of Paris Hilton. The necklace was worn on Euphoria by Maddy, played by Alexa Demie.
Chanel, Celine and Saint Laurent all featured heart-shaped jewellery in their summer 2023 shows. Saint Laurent’s velvet and crystal choker was particularly redolent of 90s fashion.
“We have seen the demand for heart pieces increase this year, having launched a new range in January 2023,” says the popular UK jeweller Monica Vinader. “The 100% recycled gold vermeil heart necklace and locket both sold out within the first month of trade and have remained a bestseller.”
Though hearts are traditionally paired with flowers, the new obsession with the symbol of love isn’t particularly girlish or feminine.
As Elle’s Bird says: “As well as bringing a childish, cutesy vibe, the heart symbol can also feel very powerful. With goddess trends reigning supreme, we’re depicting women as all-powerful.
“Being a deity and a warrior includes the ability to wield traditionally ‘soft’ or female values like love, nurturing and empathy, as the strong skills that they are.”