ARCHIVE | EST 2010

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​“It has been said of Hermès,” The New York Times reported in 1940, “that it is perhaps the only establishment in the world in which one cannot buy a single article that is not in perfect taste.”(1) 



The Hermés scarf is a luxury item for the ages, to be sure. Whether it’s given as a graduation gift, presented with much fanfare by a significant other, passed down from a beloved Grandmother, or purchased for oneself, it has the power to make the wearer feel unspeakably chic.



Hermés marked its hundred-year anniversary in 1937 with the introduction of the scarf, which was borne of Hermés racing silks.1 Since its debut, the Hermés carré has been a staple in the wardrobes of women whose names are synonymous with good taste. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Audrey Hepburn were often seen wearing their Hermés silk squares as glamorous kerchiefs, shielding their lovely brunette locks. Grace Kelly, another enduring scion of impeccable fashion sense, was seldom without something from Hermés on her person. After discovering Hermés while trousseau shopping in Paris with famed MGM costume designer Edith Head, Princess Grace was so devoted to the French fashion house’s scarves that upon suffering a broken arm in the late 1950’s, she fashioned a trés chic sling out of an Hermés scarf.



At present, the fashion house issues two scarf collections per year – one for Spring/Summer and one for Fall/Winter – with approximately 12 new designs each season. In an incredibly labor intensive process, all Hermès scarves are hand-printed using multiple silk screens. It takes a studio of 20 freelance designers approximately nine to ten months for a final pattern to be created and approved, and then color testing requires another three months. The entire process from design to concept, engraving and printing, to the hand-finishing process takes approximately two and a half years and is the result of 300 hand-craftsmen and 500 technicians. 



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