An accessory that we thought was old-fashioned… but that we haven’t seen the last of this year. In mode, the wheel always ends up turning.
Since 2024 it has been hanging around our paws. In the fall of the same year, the house Chanelwhich captures trends before they even have time to explode, reinvents it in a most refined 3-in-1 long watch version. This accessory, which basically has no aesthetic aim strictly speaking, has found a place of choice in the wardrobe of stylish people. A fashion craze born from the joint influence of fashion houses, who have brought it up to date since 2024, and celebrities who have incorporated it into their street looks. Bella Hadid, Lily-Rose Depp, Emily Ratajkowski and Jacob Elordi are among the fans of this technological accessory that was super popular in the 2000s and 2010s. Connected, wired headphones are now returning to invade the outfits of seasoned fashionistas and arouse the curiosity of fashion newbies.
An increase in interest which is also affecting the second-hand market: on Vintedthey reached unprecedented popularity in 2025. Searches for the said product jumped 249% in just one year (from January 2025 to January 2026). So if you have several hidden in your drawer, now is the time to take them out of your cupboard and/or resell them!
A new desirability which can be explained in several ways. If the hearing accessory took its first steps as a fashionista during the brand’s Fall-Winter 2024-2025 fashion show Conner Iveshe once again confirmed his place of choice a few months ago. Thus, the parade FRIEND men’s ready-to-wear Fall-Winter 2026-2027 put it back in the spotlight on several silhouettes. A consecration on the runway which also occurs on the internet: the trend “2026 is the new 2010” – understand, “2026 is the new 2016” – has largely confirmed its appeal to Gen Z.
Remember, that year, wired headphones reigned supreme on the fashionista planet, long before the sacrament of their rival the headset (which even ended up becoming a status symbol, according to The Independent). Where once fashionable hearing headsets were adorned with extravagance and shimmering colors (Beats by Dre), the trendy wired headphones in 2026 are sleek, white, with a minimalist style Apple.
But if we only believe in a fashion fad with aesthetic motivations, it seems that for certain celebrities, these wired headphones are a way of protecting themselves from external stimuli and intrusive social interactions: Internet users have noticed, on several occasions, that Jacob Elordi’s headphones were not plugged in. A theory which remains to be confirmed with the main stakeholders…
