Turn it around: the necklace goes backwards

Of all the beautiful jewels on show at the de Grisogono party in Cannes, it was the sparkling cheeky monkey swinging around Cara Delevingne's neck that really caught our eye.

But it wasn't just thanks to the gobstopper-sized 28.66 carat sapphire said simian was clutching between his feet - it was the way Cara was wearing it, slung backwards so the pendant fell between her shoulder blades.

IN PICTURES: Cannes Film Festival 2014 red carpet style

The method of styling is nothing new, indeed there's evidence of women first adopting the style in the 1920s. In the film The King's Speech, the Duchess of Windsor is depicted as wearing a dazzling diamond Van Cleef & Arpels 'Zip' necklace draped down her back, perfectly framed by a low-backed gown. The iconic necklace was designed after the Duchess suggested to Renée Puissant - the Maison's artistic director and daughter of Alfred Van Cleef - that she should create a piece based on the zip fastener. Thanks to its lack of traditional closing mechanism, it's the perfect piece to wear backwards.

The Duchess of Windsor in The King's Speech and Diana, Princess of Wales at the 1985 premiere of Back To The Future

Since then the styling option has made repeat appearances on the red carpet - from Jennifer Lawrence at the Oscars in Dior fine jewellery (two years in a row) to Diana, Princess of Wales, who draped a long strand of knotted pearls down her back at a 1985 film premiere.

Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast At Tiffany's, Nicole Kidman for Chanel No.5

It's made some rather more cinematic moments too. In Breakfast At Tiffany's, Holly Golightly's famed multi-strand pearls sit close to the front of her neck with the bulk falling down her back, perfectly in line with the scoop of her Hubert de Givenchy dress - a lesser-spotted detail, but a fascinating one. Similarly, for her stint as the face of Chanel No.5, Nicole Kidman donned a diamond 'No.5' pendant with a backless gown.

Cara Delevingne 's monkey necklace and Naomi Watts wearing a serpent design at this year's Cannes FIlm Festival

"It makes a lot of sense to wear a necklace this way if you are wearing a dress like Cara's with an open back," says Telegraph Luxury's jewellery expert Maria Doulton. "You have to make sure that it looks good from the front too and jewellers are designing necklaces with this in mind. And wearing a necklace this way means you can wear earrings too without having a battle between the two."

Jennifer Lawrence and Anne Hathaway at the 2013 Oscars

But can this look translate to the day? Well, if its arrival on personal and street style blogs is anything to go by, then yes. Whether it's a dainty gold chain with a tiny pendant or a bejewelled statement necklace, it seems it's coming back into favour - so why not give it a try.

All photos courtesy of Rex

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