Italian PM Matteo Renzi to open Milan fashion week

Fashion quiz: this season, should you let your hair down, or wear it up?

Trick question! You should tuck it in. But you knew that, of course. The whole hair-inside-the-turtleneck look is, like, entry-level chic. You’ve been all over that since March 2011, when we reported on Phoebe Philo leaving her hair tucked inside her sweater to take her bow on the Celine catwalk. The I’m-too-cool-to-pull-my-hair-out-of-my-collar is now a near-basic styling trick.

Drumroll, please, for this season’s update: the hair-choker. It’s the same silhouette – your hair is trapped under your chin in a loose, insouciant way that just happens to be quite flattering on the cheekbones – but the hair is tied to your neck with a silk scarf, or a necklace, or a neon cable tie. On the Christian Dior spring/summer 2016 catwalk, and in the advertising campaign, printed silk scarves were looped around models’ necks to fix the hair in a sort of low ponytail. At Mary Katrantzou, the streetstyle trend for black ribbon chokers – think Gigi Hadid – was turned into a party-ponytail-look for the London fashion week catwalk. For out-of-the-box bonkers brilliance, though, it’s all about Christopher Kane, who used cable ties as ponytail fastenings and chokers, with the hair inside, for his spring/summer 2016 show.

Image: white bridesmaid dresses

But what does it all mean, I hear you cry. The charm of the hair-tuck was that it looked almost accidental. Like, maybe you overslept after an epic night out, and this morning you pulled on your navy cashmere just before leaving the house and were then too busy/self-confident to bother looking in the mirror. Whereas ending up with your hair on the inside of your necklace or your silk scarf is deliberate, and therefore edgier. And where the hair tuck was all cutesy-cosy, choker hair is almost a bit bondagey. Especially if you use a black silk ribbon, when frankly it gets into Agent Provocateur campaign territory.

A few styling points-of-order. We’re quite taken with this American Apparel all-in-one choker-and-top, which is a bit like wearing a T-shirt with a ponytail band attached, but more modern. Alternatively, you can never go far wrong taking tips from Leandra Medine, AKA Man Repeller, who has nailed using choker hair with a bright silk scarf without looking at all cruise ship.

Lastly, this just in from Paris. A new look spotted at the haute couture shows comprises a colourful silk scarf tied around your neck and hair, with a contrast colour wool scarf layered on top, hanging loosely around the neck. Fashion this spring: it’s such a wind-up.

See mOre: formal dresses au