For the third and final part of my Spring/Summer 2021 roundup, it’s time to take a look at the scarf colors for the season.
As far as designs go, we are – as with the leather colors – seeing a combination of a range of new designs and the return of some beloved and older designs. The season’s scarves have been arriving in the boutiques. Although some designs have been coming in rather slowly, as per usual for the last few years, they should continue to trickle in regularly, with some designs appearing at the beginning of the season, some now, and others becoming available somewhat late in the season.
As I mentioned in my color article last year, Hermès generally works with several different color families per season among its different departments: leather goods, scarves, ready to wear and shoes. Although each has their own seasonal colors (and the seasonal colors are most prominently visible in the leather goods department), additionally Hermès also has some colors which tend to be regularly available (noir, gold, etoupe, etc), as well as some holdover colors from prior seasons, along with the return of a few colors from prior years. These leather colors tend to coordinate well with the seasonal scarves (although I find the scarves, due to their detail and the variety of colors used in the production of the more colorful offerings, also tend to coordinate with leather colors from prior years as well).
Leather Goods – Spring Summer 2021 Seasonal Colors
As discussed in part two of the Spring/Summer 2021 roundup, The seasonal colors for leather are:
- Jaune Bourgeon
- Rouge Sellier
Of course, this is a very short list. However, I am hearing that many popular colors have been retuning, including:
- Bleu Brume
- Bleu du Malte
- Bleu Orage
- Bleu St Cyr
- Bordeaux
- Bougainvillier
- Celeste
- Chocolat
- Ebene
- Framboise
- Havane
- Jaune Poussin
- Menthe
- Miel
- Mykonos
- Pink (5P)
- Prune
- Rose Confetti
- Rose Lipstick
- Rose Sakura
- Rose Shocking
- Rose Tyrien
- Vert Jade
- Vert de Gris
- Vert Vertigo
Regular Leathers
I am also seeing the following colors – some are regularly offered, some are holdovers from past seasons. Note that some colors will only be available in SLGs:
- Abricot (holdover from 2019)
- Anemone
- Bambou (holdover from 2020)
- Beige de Weimar (holdover from 2019)
- Bleu du Nord (holdover from 2019)
- Bleu Electrique
- Bleu Encre
- Bleu Frida (holdover from 2020)
- Bleu Hydra
- Bleu Indigo
- Bleu Nuit
- Brique
- Cactus (holdover from 2019)
- Ciel
- Craie
- Deep Blue (holdover from 2019)
- Etain
- Etoupe
- Gold
- Gris Perle
- Jaune Ambre
- Lime
- Kraft (holdover from 2019)
- Magnolia
- Noir
- Quebracho (holdover from 2020)
- Pain d’Epice (holdover from 2020)
- Raisin
- Rose Azalee
- Rose Confetti
- Rose Ete (holdover from 2019)
- Rose Extreme
- Rose Jaipur
- Rose Mexico (holdover from 2020)
- Rose Pourpre
- Rose Texas (holdover from 2020)
- Rouge Casaque
- Rouge de Coeur (holdover from 2019)
- Rouge Grenat
- Rouge H
- Rouge Piment
- Sesame (holdover from 2020)
- Vert Bosphore (holdover from 2019)
- Vert Criquet (holdover from 2020)
- Vert Cyprès
- Vert Rousseau (holdover from 2019)
- Vert Olive
- Vert Veronese (holdover from 2019)
Scarf Designs
For the Spring/Summer 2021 scarves, I am pleased to see a good variety of designs which should appeal to a broad range of clients, whether scarf collectors or new customers looking for a nice gift. I’m just going to share with you a few highlights.
One of the more traditional and older designs, Le Timbalier, has come back in the silk 90cm format, as well as the very equestrian Cavalcadour in the 140cm cashmere blend format.
On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, the new design I have been the most excited to see is called Space Derby (90cm silk), and it’s not for everyone, but I love this design and all the fun colors.
So far this season, Space Derby has been inexplicably hard to find, with just a few of the colorways available, and I for one have been having difficulties tracking this particular colorway down. Clearly, Hermès has chosen to highlight this design, promoting it by producing the design in its fashion jewelry line (clic h bracelet and necklace): so, Hermès, why make the scarf impossible to find if you’re trying to promote it?
La Marche du Zambeze by Ardmore Artists has been one of the most popular designs over the past few seasons, and it’s available in both the regular silk twill 90cm as well as the washed silk (which has a much softer feel to it). Even better, what was arguably the most popular colorway of the original issue has been repeated for this season, to the delight of collectors who missed out the first time around.
Horse designs are back in various styles. While Jan Bajtlik’s Cheval de Fete (90cm silk) – with a highly stylized Kluska, of course – may seem very bold and graphic, I have already tried this design and it ties very nicely, especially for those who don’t like the more intricate and busy designs. To contrast, Florence Manlik’s En Attendant Ulysse (140cm cashmere and 45cm pochette) is much more intricate and romantic.
There is a lot of whimsy this season, from Jan Bajtlik’s whirlwind of a design L’Epopee d’Hermès (140cm cashmere) – which is laid out like a circular presentation of the children’s game Chutes and Ladders (Bajtlik’s Instagram stories revealed that it is indeed based on the game, with the numbered boxes representing Hermès years of production and significant events in the company’s history) – to the calm, idealized and very pretty mythology of Octave Marsal and Théo de Gueltzl’s Faubourg Tropical, there really is a little something for everyone.
Scarf Colors
It appears that Hermès is not doing formal color families this season, but I am definitely seeing the idea of general color schemes being borne through the silk/cashmere offerings. Primarily I am seeing seven color schemes this season:
Pink: A pale pink scheme with main accents in pale blue, bright pink, dark red, yellow and green.
Red: A bright red colorway with main accents in bright blue, green, white and yellow.
Orange: Primary orange with accents in yellow, white and shades of beige and tan.
Yellow: Bright yellow with accents of red, blue, green and gray.
Light Blue: A light blue color with accents of dark blue, soft green, pale yellow and pale pink.
Navy: Navy blue with main accents of pink, yellow, green and light blue.
Black: A black neutral color way with accents of white, gold and cream.
As usual, these particular colorways will dominate the season, but there are always scarves in other colorways. There will be colorful prints that do not fit into a particular color scheme, and there will be plenty of neutral and monochromatic options. As Hermès always offers a good variety of leather colors, there will be plenty of options for those who like to coordinate their scarves with their bags and SLGs (this includes older scarves with new leathers and new scarves with older leathers).
Here are some suggestions of leather colors that might go with this season’s scarf color schemes:
Pink: A pale pink colorway with main accents in pale blue, bright pink, yellow and green.
Leather suggestions: Rose Sakura, 5P, Rose Tyrien, Jaune Poussin, Rouge Sellier, Vert Cactus, Bleu Brume, Mykonos.
Red: A bright red scheme with main accents in bright blue, green, white and yellow.
Leather suggestions: Rouge Casaque, Rouge Sellier, Jaune Poussin, Bambou, Vert Vertigo, Mykonos, Bleu de Malte.
Orange: Primary orange with accents in yellow, white and shades of beige and tan.
Leather suggestions: Funny enough, I am not seeing a lot of orange leather, despite many orange scarves! This should work with holdover colors such as Apricot and Janue Ambre, a well as Miel, Quebracho and most neutrals.
Yellow: Bright yellow with accents of red, blue, green and gray.
Leather suggestions: Jaune Bourgeon, Bambou, Bleu Brume, Ciel, Bleu St Cyr, Dark Blue, Gris Perle, Gris Mouette, Noir.
Light Blue: A light blue color with accents of dark blue, soft green, pale yellow and pale pink.
Leather suggestions: 5P, Rose Confetti, Rose Lipstick, Rouge Sellier, Jaune Poussin, Jaune Bourgeon, Vert Cactus, Vert Vertigo, Vert Jade, Bleu Brume, Celeste, Mykonos, Bleu de Malte, Bleu Orage, Miel.
Navy: Navy blue with main accents of pink, yellow, green and light blue.
Leather suggestions: 5P, Rose Confetti, Rose Tyrien, Framboise, Rose Lipstick, Jaune Bourgeon, Vert Cactus, Vert Verone, most of the blues, Rouge Sellier and most of the neutrals.
Black: A black neutral color way with accents of white, gold and cream.
Leather suggestions: Almost all of the neutrals, Rouge Casaque, Rouge Sellier, Jaune Poussin.
I always enjoy reading all your posts and I really appreciate how detailed they are. Though I wish you would take the time to spell all the French words properly because for us, Francophones and Francophiles, the lack of accents is jarring. Please, turn chevre into chèvre and fete into fête, and so on, so our langue can look the way it sounds. ?
The Hermès website isn’t such a stickler for the accents, either – I find them very haphazardly applied to their US website, so it’s not a huge issue for them. With that said, I really do always try my best, although between edits and autocorrects, sometimes this happens.
I understand but you’re such an Hermès lover, I thought you’d be an extra purist!
Aw, thank you. ? Now you make me want to work harder at it. ?
Beautiful. I love scarves. I choose square ones based on the edge design.
When you drape it, that’s the most noticeable part.
I sometimes choose based on the diagonal just off center – I guess you have to base it off of how you usually tie/wear it. 🙂
Ah! Interesting. Thank you.
Hermes scarves are a work of art! Some people purchase them to frame and hang on their walls. I’m overwhelmed by all of the color choices and it’s hard to pick one.
On a different note, I asked my Hermes SA if she knew the colors for Birkin and Kelly bags, this season, and she said she “wasn’t sure”. Then she said Hermes has a “leather shortage”. Is this true? I thought the pandemic prevented artisans from working, but a leather shortage? Chanel, Dior and LV produce multiple bags, but is Hermes leather a higher quality and that’s why it’s in short supply? Thx.
I haven’t heard anything about a leather shortage, and I believe they have their own leather producers. Yes, absolutely I agree with you – there were production issues due to the pandemic, but from what I understand that issue is already dissipating and production is ramping back up. I wonder how knowledgeable your SA is (some are very; others, not so much). I discussed the leather colors in part 1 and 2 and while the general rule is that they don’t know exactly when anything is coming (and bear in mind that not everything will actually come because of the pandemic – I know the bag I ordered for fall 2020 will never actually arrive), the store should at least know what they ordered.
While it’s impossible to choose one amongst all their meticulous designs, Hermès’ “Please Check-in” scarf is undoubtedly the quirkiest!
I love their more humorous designs!
As a longtime collector (um, “accumulator”??), I love to see the new designs. Especially excited by Jan Bajtlik; his scarves are truly works of art. Thx for showcasing something besides the bags!
I looooove Jan’s work – he’s probably my current favorite, too. I love when he gives us a deep dive on his designs on Instagram. I started buying the scarves for years before I could afford the bags, so it’s the first department I always head to when I’m in the boutique.
Sweetie, your column is awesome!
Thank you!!! ?
I hope Hermes is sponsoring this post because the number of Hermes posts in the past year have been exhausting!
Lol! That would be nice!!! Maybe this is just a “healthy” way of expressing my addiction?? My new quarantine skill is drawing the bags, and I spend a lot of time doing that too (merch coming soon…I got pretty good at it)….anything to keep from going to the boutique! ?
HI NP, I always enjoy reading your articles as you are fun as well as knowledgable. I am at a point I don’t really need bags anymore but I LOVE LOVE YOUR POST on the scarves. I have been a collector on and off on scarves but this year (maybe bc we all have been home bound for a year or so) I kinda went a little wild.. Got the Le Timbalier in orange, CAvalcadour in dark blue, Cheval de Fete in wild colors with purple in it and L’Epopeed’Hermes in light blue…love love…today I ventured into the city and SA had three space derbys waiting..light blue, orange and navy…so if you are still looking for one, NY Madison Avenue has them! Thank you again for the article..keep it coming!
PS. I got the matching space derby bracelet…really cool on!