How Cross Jewelry Became a Fashion Statement

The vintage market is rife with options, thanks to the cross’s popularity in the ’80s, ’90s, and early aughts fashion scene. Madonna set a precedent for the stage with her “Like a Prayer” music video in 1989, in which she wears a black bustier and ornate silver cross. Catholic iconography exists at the root of Dolce & Gabbana, launched in 1985, giving way to many cross sightings in collections leading up to today. Designers from Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel to Vivienne Westwood to Christian Lacroix continued to champion the motif in the late ’80s and early ’90s, and they reached critical mass thanks to brands like Chrome Hearts in the early aughts. (The Kardashians have publicly endorsed Chrome Hearts via their ensembles on numerous occasions in recent years.)

On the primary market, designers have revamped these traditional silhouettes through their own lens. Popular contemporary jewelry brands like Alighieri, Ben-Amun, and Sophie Bille Brahe have all folded the motif into their product offerings. Tessa Tran, founder of jewelry and ready-to-wear brand Chan Luu, “saved every last dime in high school for a Chrome Hearts F*** Y** cross-embellished hoodie.” Though her label is not inherently Y2K-inspired, Tran has reimagined the era’s crosses for a 2024 consumer. Her baroque pearl crosses, replete with an inset diamond, toe the line between gaudy and understated with every—“believe it or not”—naturally occurring structure. “The shape of each pearl is completely unique, lacking the hard regimented lines of a more traditional cross necklace,” Tran says. “I think it makes it a little bit easier to wear, especially if you are wearing it as a fashion piece.”

Vittoria Ceretti wearing cross earrings in Dolce & Gabbana’s Madonna-inspired spring 2025 show.

In addition to the cross, she has toyed with the symbolism of Buddha, evil eyes, and fish in past collections. “The cross is obviously such a strong Christian symbol, but its meaning has been absorbed into pop culture,” Tran reflects. They “can also be worn as decorative symbols,” she notes, choosing to leave interpretation up to the wearer.

Webb, Roan’s stylist, who grew up in Oklahoma, firmly in the Bible Belt, posits, “The iconography is classically beautiful, and it’s also rooted in a sense of trust to be protected by something you believe in.” The stylist has a cross tattooed on her throat, though she’s admittedly not religious. “It’s a ‘what if?’ Or a ‘just in case’ thing.”

Sisto, the influencer, identifies as Christian, but doesn’t think that’s a precursor to wearing a cross in 2024. “Of course, it’s a part of my religion, but I also think they are so beyond chic to wear,” she explains. “It can be a fashion statement; you don’t need to be religious to wear one.”

Madonna at the premiere of Desperately Seeking Susan in 1985.

Elizabeth Doyle, board member of the American Society of Jewelry Historians and co-founder of Doyle & Doyle, a jewelry boutique known for vintage and antique jewelry, massages this blurry symbolism further. “The cross has always been a symbol of power even when used in a religious connotation,” she says, citing the British royal family, heads of church and state, as evidence. She goes on to address the famous diamond and amethyst-encrusted cross the late Princess Diana wore numerous times, including to the 1987 Birthright charity gala. “It was this big moment where she came into her own independence,” Doyle outlines. “Wearing a huge cross is a symbol of empowerment.” (Kim Kardashian purchased the pendant via Sotheby’s for nearly $200,000—double its pre-auction estimate—in 2023.) “Christianity has also never been separated from consumerism,” she notes.

The other night, I spotted a cross in an early episode of Friends on the neck of evidently spiritual Phoebe Buffay. I looked up from my computer while writing this the next day and glimpsed another on a patron of my neighborhood Brooklyn coffee shop. Wondering about the deeper meaning behind each, I remembered, as is often the case in the fickle world of fashion, it’s not always that deep. The cross addition to Roan’s outfit for the Hinterland Music Festival? “A formality,” Webb states. “I couldn’t have her dress like a nun without the most gaudy wooden cross necklace I could find.”