Rabat – Bedazzling has suddenly escaped the jewellery box and taken over everything from phone cases and coffee cups to cakes, beauty products, nails, clothes, and accessories.

The trend is not entirely new, but in 2026, the look has returned with a new target: apparently, nothing is safe from a few strategically placed rhinestones.

The return of bedazzling

Bedazzling, broadly, refers to decorating an object with rhinestones, gemstones, crystals, or other shiny embellishments. The current version of the trend is closely tied to the return of Y2K fashion and a wider shift toward maximalism, colour, and playful self-expression.

According to Who What Wear, body gems, once popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s, are experiencing a comeback as Gen Z continues to revisit Y2K aesthetics through social media. Kylie Jenner is among the celebrities helping bring the sparkling look back into the spotlight.

The Kylie Jenner effect

Kylie Jenner’s 29th birthday celebrations in August 2026, and suddenly everyone decided to bedazzle their birthday cakes, phones, and bodies as well. 

Jenner’s 1990s-inspired birthday featured colourful stick-on gemstones across the decorations, but one particular detail caught social media’s attention: a birthday cake covered in bright gemstones. The look quickly became part of a wider online obsession with decorating everyday objects.

Jenner was later seen wearing a rhinestone tiara and showing off a bejewelled phone case, while her “Crystal Candy” manicure featured colourful gems in heart and diamond shapes.

The effect was less about creating a completely new fashion trend and more about giving an existing one a very recognisable celebrity moment.

From Y2K style to ‘whimsy maxxing’

After years of minimalist fashion, quiet luxury, and neutral-toned aesthetics, 2026 has been leaning toward maximalism. Bright colours, exaggerated accessories, nostalgia and decorative details are becoming more visible, while Y2K fashion continues to influence beauty and clothing.

Vogue France has described the current phenomenon as a return of glitter maximalism, linking the rise of everyday rhinestones to Kylie Jenner’s birthday and the broader “whimsy” aesthetic.

The trend has also been described as “whimsy maxxing”, where ordinary objects are deliberately made more colourful, playful and excessive.

A coffee cup does not simply have to hold coffee anymore. Apparently, it also needs 300 tiny crystals.

Morocco has been bedazzling for generations

The fascination with embellished clothing may feel new on TikTok, but the basic idea of decorating garments with elaborate details is deeply familiar in Moroccan fashion.

UNESCO describes the Moroccan caftan as featuring embroidery, beads, sequins, decorative buttons and braids, with specialised artisans responsible for different stages of its production. 

Traditional techniques such as “sfifa”, a decorative braided trim used on garments including caftans, djellabas and jabadors, also demonstrate how ornamentation has long been central to Moroccan dress.

The comparison, however, needs a little care. Modern bedazzling usually involves attaching ready-made rhinestones or gems to an existing surface. Moroccan embroidery and decorative techniques involve skilled craftsmanship, specialised materials and knowledge passed through generations.

A rhinestone covered phone case and an embroidered caftan are therefore not the same thing. But they do share a visual instinct in the sense that decoration is not an afterthought. It is part of the object itself.

You can see this most clearly in Moroccan wedding fashion, where caftans and takchitas can feature elaborate embroidery, beads, sequins, metallic details, decorative belts and jewellery.

Kylie Jenner may have helped make bedazzling the trend of 2026. Moroccan fashion, meanwhile, has been making the case for embellishment for a very long time.