From Hardware Stores to High Fashion, The Practical Accessory Stylish People Are Surprisingly Loving

Fashion is always entangled with people’s everyday lives. In a literal sense, this comes down to the way we regularly interact with clothes. But the most enduring designs are the ones that derive inspiration from the way we move throughout the world and go about our daily adventures.

Cartier’s Aldo Cipullo took influence from screwdrivers when creating the French jeweller’s Juste Un Clou bangle. At Bottega Veneta, Mattieu Blazy designed leather totes that rival the designs of plastic shopping bags. Karl Lagerfeld even conjured up a supermarket for Chanel’s grocery run-esque autumn/winter 2014 collection. The latest mundane trend to get the high-fashion treatment? Paracord.

Indeed, rope accessories are on the rise this year. The motif takes a type of utilitarian nylon cable and renders it in an array of settings incongruous for its purpose—swishing on the handle of a designer bag as a bag charm, securing your heel in place when wearing a pair of luxury sandals, providing a place for a pendant to hang on a long jewellery. From hardware stores to high fashion, this is one practical accessory fashion people can’t stop loving.

What is the Rope Accessory Trend?

The rope accessory trend owes its origins to Miuccia Prada who, for Miu Miu’s spring/summer 2024 collection, paraded a series of twine trinkets down the Paris Fashion Week catwalk. “Prototypical ideas of clothing hold significance,” the luxury brand wrote at the time in the collection presentation’s accompanying press release. To translate, Miu Miu showcased a range that reversed pieces to their essence.

“Garments devised for specific purposes, functions and events are here remixed in unanticipated combinations,” they added, explaining the rationale for pairing labelled polo shirts with bubble skirts and sandals that look more in place on a river bed than they do on the runway.

At a time when fashion was fixated with football, remember this was just off the back of micro trends like “blokette” and the FIFA Women's World Cup, the emergence of the rope accessory trend served as a stylish athletic-inspired successor.

Instead of the pitch, the rope accessory trend takes us to the carabiners of rock climbers and boulders, the straps fixed to surfboards and the fastening of camping tents. Now, this motif is taking over the high street.

The trend brings an air of practicality to dressing. The material itself is sturdy, but in this setting adds an element of irony to your look because of how out of context they are when worn to relaxed long brunches or coffee at a farmer’s market.

Any well-dressed person knows the secret to an intriguing outfit is balancing contrast, and this trend succeeds in bridging polish with a sportif flair. It’s something that we see Scandi women do so well too, pairing all-weather cargo pants with a pretty sequin top. While our lifestyles lean more towards coffee runs than ultra marathons, who's to say we can’t spice it up every once in a while with a piece borrowed from these outdoor activities?

From the long ‘90s fashion cord necklaces to the rope sandals we’ll see dominate throughout the season, keep scrolling ahead for the best rope accessories of 2025.

Shop the Rope Accessory Trend

& Other Stories

Fishnet Cord Tote Bag

Adding an oceanic twist to the trend, this & Other Stories bag takes the rope seen on fishing vessels and around anchorages and fashions it into a stylish netted bag.

& Other Stories

Sculptural Pendant Cord Necklace

Continue the look with the matching necklace.

& Other Stories

Cord Stone-Pendant Necklace

This take is a more subtle take on the trend.

If you're investing in this trend, it's best to buy from the brand that started it all. Very Hallie and Annie Parker, no?

Missoma

18ct Gold-Plated Vermeil Silver Baroque Pearl Cord Necklace

This is such a beautiful rendering of a rope accessory, and I adore how the pearl detail brings a summer element to the playful trend.

HEAVEN MAYHEM

Julia Glass and Cord Pendant Necklace

So many It girls own this style.

Miu Miu

Leather and Cord Trick

So many designers, including St. Agni, and celebrities, like Jennifer Lawrence, are embracing the bag necklace look.

JENNIFER BEHR

Atrani Gold-Plated, Shell, Crystal and Cord Necklace

This is at the top of my wishlist....

ANCIENT GREEK SANDALS

Zoi Leather-Trimmed Braided Cord Sandals

Ancient Greek Sandals is like catnip for cool girls who want fashion-forward but lesser-known footwear. Trust us, this is one spin on the rope accessory trend that your in-the-know friends haven't seen.

ROXANNE ASSOULIN

The Happy Gold-Tone, Enamel and Cord Bag Charm

Add this to your key ring for a sweet reminder.

Miu Miu

Riviere Cord and Leather Sandals

Alexa Chung, Elle Fanning and many other stylish A-listers approve this trend.

Hush

Rope Detail Flat Sandals

I've had my eye on this affordable alternative for a while now, and I think I've just convinced myself to finally check them out of my cart...

Jimmy Fairly is one of the chicest eyewear labels out, but did you know this French brand offers paracord straps for their sunglasses?

BIMBA Y LOLA

Rope Footbed Sandal

This feels very Isabel Marant-coded.

The orange shade demands to be worn while sipping on Aperol Spritz.

Free People

Bungee Strappy Sandals

I adore this caged blue variety.

& Other Stories

Interlinked-Chain Cord Bracelet

The Rope Accessory Trend on the Runway

Style Notes: Miu Miu is masterful at packaging the unsaid to the mainstream. Case in point: showcasing their models with bandages wrapped around their feet.

Style Notes: Bottega Veneta took a mild stance on embracing the rope accessory trend by adding a knot to the handle of their leather bags on its autumn/winter 2024 runway—the penultimate showcase with Matthieu Blazy at the helm.

Style Notes: Isabel Marant brought the rope acceosry trend to ready-to-wear in her spring/summer 2025 runway.

Style Notes: The bag-on-a-rope trend is the perfect summer accessory.

Why Trust Us?

At Who What Wear UK, fashion is our speciality. Our editors have years of industry experience, from reporting on seasonal fashion trends seen at international fashion weeks to working with some of the most recognisable names in fashion. Every item we recommend is carefully selected based on current trends, quality and real-world wearability.

We regularly try pieces ourselves, everything from bestselling jeans to designer shoes, speak to external experts and fashion insiders and stay closely connected to what our readers are searching for. Our advice is grounded in expertise and has to pass our exceptional taste levels—so you can feel confident in every recommendation.