The turtleneck trend is back — making your winter look warm, stylish, and innovative

Bollywood actors Shahid Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, Sidharth Malhotra, and Prateik Babbar, and Formula One racer Lewis Hamilton are among the style-savvy men who show how versatile the turtleneck can be.

With the chill in the wind increasing, celebrities are leading the way in keeping stylishly warm. The item of the moment is the turtleneck, an extremely versatile garment that can be dressed up or down. From Shahid Kapoor and Varun Dhawan to Irrfan, Bollywood celebs have been spotted wearing high neck T-shirts or sweaters with suits and jackets. While turtlenecks dropped largely out of fashion in the early Noughties, they are now seen on every trendy celebrity.

About the turtleneck’s history, designer Nikhil Mehra says, “It has a very retro vibe to it, and since every trend had already been followed in the past, I think it was about time for turtlenecks to come into the picture. In the ’70s, we saw it on Hollywood actor Richard Gere — how suave he looked wearing those high necks. During the same decade, American feminist and journalist Gloria Steinem made it very popular.”

Menswear designer Gaurav Khanijo says, “Runways have a lot of influence in setting trends, and if a trend is picked by a couple of designers in the same season, it’s likely to become big. And last season saw a lot of designers experimenting with high necks in their collections.”

The high neck trend maybe back, but like every other trend that comes with a reinvention, the styling of the high neck has changed. “While the high neck trend is back, the styling is different. They are now teamed up mostly with suits and used as a replacement for a shirt and a tie. It’s more of a normcore fashion staple,” says stylist Vikram Seth. “Wear them with a bomber [jacket] and jeans for a laidback look or opt for a suit with the turtleneck for a more dapper you.”