The recently-concluded Vogue Wedding Atelier held at hotel Taj Palace in New Delhi saw the resurgence of one jewellery style among others. Behold, the choker. While the choker had never really vanished from the festive or bridal jewellery landscape, we are attributing its return to the fore to the lowering of necklines in kurtas and blouses and the uptick in shoulder-baring corsets worn with both saris and lehengas.
Celebrities, as it turns out, are the early adopters and even purveyors of some trends. Genelia Deshmukh hinted at the return of the choker as early as 2024, often wearing them with her festive looks. Deshmukh, known for traditional approach to dressing for occasion-worthy events, has worn iterations of the choker that range from the Rajasthani to Maharashtrian styles. Ahead of the wedding season, Deshmukh’s collection of chokers are all the inspiration that you need to put on with your wedding guest-worthy look.
Here, Deshmukh is seen wearing a heavily-ornamented version of the Rajasthani hasli from Lucknow-based fine jewellery label Kakun, embellished with diamonds and emeralds. Derived from the word hansuli—which roughly translates to collar bone in Hindi—the traditional torque necklace sits anywhere above the clavicle bone to the base of the neck when designed like a choker. Originally worn by the women of the Banjara community in the 14th century as rings of silver with minimal designs, they were redesigned with enamel detailings, polkis and precious gemstones by Indian royalty in the 19th century like the one seen on the actor.
