Pearls and fashion.
How the great houses
reinvented everything.
From Coco Chanel to Jacquemus,
from Céline to Dior —
the pearl transcends eras without ever aging.
Few materials have spanned so many eras without losing their relevance. Diamonds, perhaps. Gold, obviously. And pearls — this organic anomaly, this beauty mark slowly produced by the sea, worn by women in power around their necks, wrists, and ears for millennia.
But what is remarkable about the pearl is not just its longevity. It's its ability to reinvent itself. With each generation, a house, a designer, a vision breathes new meaning into it. Each time, the pearl absorbs the present and continues to exist.
At La Maison GISEL B, we are intimately familiar with this story. Because we are part of this lineage — that of houses that believe the pearl still has things to say. And that it hasn't said them all yet.
La Maison GISEL B Collection — Baroque pearls & gold plated · Toulouse Workshop
Coco Chanel: the pearl as an act of freedom
It all begins with Gabrielle Chanel. Or rather, it all begins again — because the pearl existed long before her. But it was Coco who, in the 1920s, gave it a radically new meaning.
Until then, the pearl was a symbol of social status. It was worn in tight rows, as a complete parure, with strict codes on how to wear it and the occasion that justified it. Chanel broke all that. She wore pearls with simple clothes, comfortable jerseys, outfits that rejected protocol. She mixed real and fake pearls — a scandal at the time, a revolution in practice.
Her message was clear: beauty is not earned. It is not encoded in rules. A pearl worn on a sweater, without any particular occasion, was as legitimate as a formal parure. This vision changed everything. It still resonates today in every pearl jewel worn daily.
La Maison Chanel perpetuates this dialogue between the pearl and freedom in each of its Métiers d'art collections — where pearls become embroidery, ornaments, points of light on creations that blend tradition and modernity.
She made it free. That's different.
The timeline of the pearl in fashion
To understand where the pearl stands in 2026, one must understand where it comes from. Here are the key moments in its history in contemporary fashion.
She mixes real and fake pearls, wearing them with simple outfits. The pearl breaks free from high society codes.
The pearl necklace becomes the very image of urban elegance. Sober, strong, timeless. An icon that would span decades.
Taking over as Chanel's artistic director, Lagerfeld makes the baroque pearl — large, irregular, exuberant — one of the house's symbols. Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell: the baroque pearl enters the 90s with a bang.
The rise of minimalism and fine jewelry relegates the pearl to the background. It is then associated with outdated classicism.
Simon Porte Jacquemus incorporates baroque pearl jewelry into his Provençal, sunny, sensual looks. The pearl becomes the accessory of solar minimalism — a magnificent paradox that millennials love.
All houses return to the pearl. Dior, Céline, Miu Miu, Saint Laurent — the baroque pearl in particular becomes the statement jewel of the decade.
It is no longer a trend — it is a fundamental. Worn by all styles, all ages, all silhouettes. The Paris Couture Week of January 2026 consecrated the pearl as a central material for major high jewelry collections.
Jacquemus and the pearl: solar minimalism
If Chanel freed the pearl, Jacquemus brought it sunshine. Simon Porte Jacquemus understood something essential about the baroque pearl — that it belongs to light, to warmth, to the body. Not to the closed showcases of jewelers.
His looks from the La Bomba, La Riviera, La Montagne collections all carry this same intuition: the pearl doesn't dress, it reveals. It draws attention not to itself, but to the skin it touches. It's a vision of jewelry that resonates with us at GISEL B — jewelry as an amplifier of presence, not as a substitute for attention.
Céline and the pearl: understated affirmation
Phoebe Philo, during her Céline years, then Hedi Slimane — two radically different visions for the same house, and yet the pearl runs through both. Philo used it sparingly, as a punctuation mark in a streamlined silhouette. Slimane wore it in a more rock, more androgyne register.
What emerges from Céline's interpretation of the pearl is the same thing that emerges from Céline's interpretation of clothing: the right piece, placed in the right spot, saying everything without needing to say more. A pearl choker on a white collar. A single dangling baroque pearl on a bare ear. Elegance that doesn't try too hard.
It is precisely this spirit that we seek in our pearl necklaces and our baroque earrings — the piece that stands out effortlessly.
The GISEL B spirit — Baroque pearls & gold · Everyday wear · Handmade in France
Dior and the pearl: heritage reinvented
Christian Dior loved pearls. He associated them with femininity in a way that was anything but conventional — for him, the pearl was alive, organic, secret. This vision has permeated all artistic directions of the house.
Maria Grazia Chiuri, the current artistic director, has pushed this interpretation even further. She has integrated the pearl into unexpected contexts — with boots, jackets, masculine-cut clothing. She has made the pearl an object of dialogue between genders and eras. The Dior jewelry presented during the recent Paris couture weeks confirms this direction — the pearl is reinvented as a sculptural material, far beyond its traditional interpretation.
What the great houses have taught us about the pearl
Through these different interpretations — Chanel, Jacquemus, Céline, Dior — some principles emerge, which we apply at GISEL B in each of our collections.
| House | Its vision of the pearl | What we take away |
|---|---|---|
| Chanel | The pearl freed from protocol | Wear the pearl without a particular occasion |
| Jacquemus | The solar, bodily pearl | The pearl with skin, light, movement |
| Céline | The refined pearl that affirms | Just one right piece, nothing more |
| Dior | The sculpted, gender-neutral pearl | The pearl with everything — including the unexpected |
| Miu Miu | The ironic and joyful pearl | Asserted accumulation, unfiltered pleasure |
And GISEL B in all this?
We don't compare ourselves to the big houses. That would be presumptuous and inaccurate. But we share the same conviction — that the pearl has something essential to say about our time. About authenticity, about accepted imperfection, about the beauty of life.
The baroque pearl that we craft in our Toulouse workshop doesn't need the endorsement of a big house to exist. It exists by itself — by its nacre, by its irregularity, by the intention of the designer who chose it and the artisan who assembled it. It has its own story. And that is precisely what the women who wear it are looking for.
The GISEL B spirit
We don't follow the big houses. We follow the same direction as them: that of the living, free pearl, worn with intention. Our territory is accessible craftsmanship — handmade in France, rooted in Toulouse, faithful to a vision from day one.
How to draw inspiration from the big houses without copying them
The codes of the great houses are a valuable source of inspiration — provided they are adapted to one's own personality. Here's how we interpret these readings in our selection at GISEL B.
- Chanel spirit — wear several strands of pearls with a simple outfit. A sweater, jeans. Only pearls. Nothing else. Explore our pearl necklaces for this classic layering revisited.
- Jacquemus spirit — a dangling baroque pearl, a short dress or an open shirt. Visible skin. Captured light. Our baroque earrings are designed for this spirit.
- Céline spirit — a single piece, just right. No accumulation. A delicate choker on a white collar. A single stud in one ear. Our minimalist pearl pieces for this spirit.
- Dior spirit — dare to wear pearls with the unexpected. A structured blazer, boots. The tension between the hardness of the clothing and the softness of the mother-of-pearl. Our baroque statement pieces for this daring approach.
To delve deeper into the art of wearing your pearl jewelry, our guide on pearl jewelry layering will give you all the composition keys. And to understand why the baroque pearl is the jewel of our time, read our article on the renaissance of the pearl in 2026.
Explore our entire collection of cultured pearl jewelry — designed in the spirit of these houses who have always known that the pearl has something irreplaceable.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which fashion house popularized pearl jewelry?
Coco Chanel was the first to democratize the pearl in contemporary fashion in the 1920s, by wearing it with simple clothes and mixing real and fake pearls. Karl Lagerfeld then reinvented the baroque pearl in the 1980s. More recently, Jacquemus, Céline, Dior, and Miu Miu have each offered a contemporary interpretation of the pearl.
How to wear pearls in a Jacquemus style?
The Jacquemus spirit is about pearls with skin and light. A dangling baroque pearl with a short dress or an open shirt. Asymmetrical earrings worn with hair pulled up. The pearl that dialogues with the body rather than the outfit. The essential elements: visible skin, lightness, and a strong piece that needs nothing else.
Why is the baroque pearl associated with major fashion houses?
The baroque pearl was rehabilitated by Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel in the 1980s, then adopted by all major contemporary houses for its unique and organic character. Unlike the perfect round pearl, the baroque pearl is irregular, alive, and impossible to reproduce — making it a perfect symbol of authenticity and non-conformity, two central values of contemporary fashion.
How to draw inspiration from Céline style with pearls?
The Céline spirit is about asserted restraint. A single pearl piece, precisely chosen, worn with a minimalist outfit. A delicate choker on a white collar. A baroque stud in one ear. No accumulation, no layering — just the right piece, in the right place, saying all that needs to be said without overdoing it.
What is the difference between GISEL B jewelry and jewelry from major fashion houses?
La Maison GISEL B shares the same conviction as the major houses — the baroque pearl as a material of the future, handmade jewelry as a requirement, authenticity as a value. The difference is accessibility: our jewelry is handcrafted in France, in Toulouse, at prices that allow everyone to access real quality jewelry. This is our definition of accessible luxury.